Vengeance
by Alforce Zero
Summary: In Prelude to the Storm, TK, Cody and Yolei meet their predecessors, while Catrina finds that she'll never escape her former master...
1. Pilot

**The Vengeance series is a continuation of the anime, but holds almost no relation with the movies (which were supposed to be out of continuity). However, events up until the defeat of Diaboromon in the movies were taken into account, as the anime series of Digimon Adventures 02 had noted those events' relations with the series. **

**With that, enjoy the Pilot chapter of the Vengeance series. Please read & review**.

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Digimons and Digimon World 2 & 3. So far, I don't own any characters featured in this chapter, except for that evil guy whose name yet to be revealed. The idea for the Chaos Generals came from Digimon World 2, while the names such as Asuka City and the others are derived from those featured in Digimon World 3.

_-_

_-_

_-_

**VENGEANCE**

_- Pilot Chapter -_

_-----------------------------------------------------------------_

It had been six months since the defeat of MaloMyotismon, and the Digital World had never experienced any attacks from any forces ever again. And thanks to Yukio Oikawa's sacrifice, therestoration processof the Digital Worldwas greatly accelerated.

The younger generation of Digidestined - Davis, Ken, Kari, Cody, Yolei and TK - all resumed their normal everyday lives back on their world. Their partner digimon - Veemon, Wormmon, Gatomon, Armadillomon, Hawkmon and Patamon chose to stay with them instead of remaining at the digital world like Agumon and the others. Despite being away from their homeworld for a longer duration of time, Veemon, Wormmon, Armadillomon and Hawkmon were now strong enough to retain their rookie forms as they were now as experienced as the original digidestined digimon.

The six younger digidestined were now on their summer break. Davis, T.K., Ken and Kari were going to enter their final year of elementary after the three months hiatus, while Yolei would be entering junior high. It was well-known that Yolei was not fond of the fact that she was older than any of them and by entering junior high meaning she had to don the green uniform which Sora wore. She claimed that the uniform seemed to emphasis herself as the old one. Cody in the meantime would continue his third grade at the same school which all of them, excluding Ken, were attending. Odaiba Elementary, that was what the school was called, the same school where their senior fellow Digidestined went to before entering high school. Ken, owing to his boy genius status, went to the well-known Tamachi's Mugen Elementary where everyone there were prodigies.

Tai, Matt and Sora were scheduled to continue their final year in junior high, while Izzy, being a year younger than the three of them, would be in his sophomore year after the summer break. Joe, the eldest of them all, would be in his final year of high-school, and was extremely busy with his studies as he hoped to achieve the best results to enter the best university, taking a degree in medicine as he had hoped to be. Mimi, who had moved with her family at the United States of America, was also enjoying the summer holidays there with her family.

* * *

The guardians of the Digital World were known as the four great Harmonious Ones. They were Azulongmon, the calm blue dragon of the east; Zhuqiaomon, the fiery red phoenix of the south; Ebonwumon, the wise northern black turtle, and Baihumon, the solitary white tiger residing in the west. Each guardian governed one-fourth of the massive plains of the Digital World. 

Azulongmon, being the only one of the four Harmonious Ones who trusted humans, opened his sector to be entered by theDigidestined. It was the reason why the Digidestined had their early adventures only within Azulongmon's domain. However, only the eastern quadrant of his sector was opened, the rest of the sector was magically cloaked by the great dragon to make it inaccessible to the Digidestined. As the eastern quadrant consisted of a massive peninsular land and a cluster of islands around the peninsular, it was easy to make the Digidestined think of it as the Digital World.

On the other hands, Ebonwumon of the north had high regards to human as well, but claimed that he wasn't ready to permit anyone from entering his sector. The same was true for the guardians of the west and south, namely Baihumon and Zhuqiaomon.. Zhuqiaomon in particular, loathed humans while Baihumon preferred the solitude of which her sector had given her. Her opinions of humans were unknown.

However, it seemed that Zhuqiaomon had every right for his belief . . . as Azulongmon's trust in humanity was the very reason of their downfall, again.

* * *

For six months, the occupants of the Digital World had lived in peace without any evil forces trying to conquer their world. It was a relief because for many years, the Digital World had encountered numerous attempts made by various evil digimon to conquer the world. Some of them remained as legends; the names such as Devimon, Myotismon, the Dark Masters, Apocalymon, the Daemon Corp, the Digimon Emperor - the only non-digimon being that attempted to conquered the world, were only some of those who had tried, and all had been thwarted by the Digidestined. 

Today, however, seemed like it was going to be a beginning of a new era of the Digital World .

A huge, floating, disc-shaped fortress was seen hovering at the East sector of the Digital World . The fortress was mostly gray in color, and had many windows. A quick observation of the fortress would lead to the impression that the fortress looked like an extremely massive spinning top. Sparks of lightning were emitted occasionally from the fortress. The fortress was heading towards a mountainous area of the East sector, which situated mountains so high no one had ever seen the top of the mountains as it was covered by clouds.

Inside the fortress, in the bridge where the fortress was piloted, a young man was seen sitting on a throne, which was situated at the middle of the expansive bridge. The throne was built higher than anything else inside the bridge. A fleet of stairs were built leading to the throne. Around the bridge were control panels, computers, and wide displaying screens. All the devices were of advanced technology, and operated on their own.

The young man who was sitting on the throne was looking at the screen lazily as he petted a small, black cat with a long tail striped black and purple who was curling on his lap. The cat seemed to be sleeping. One look at the cat and all would agree that it looked a lot like a Gatomon. A black Gatomon to be precise, and that was exactly what the cat was called - BlackGatomon. The young man, in the other hand, seemed to look no more than twenty five years of age. His shoulder-length jet-black hair which was spiked towards the front was a total contrast of his shining, emerald eyes. His complexion was fair,with high cheekbones that defined his good-looking features. His choice of garments greatly resembled that of Myotismon only that instead of blue in color, the man had chosen black, with silver trimmings. The cape, on the other hand, was crimson, just like Myotismon's. All the clothes adorned well to his tall and well-built body, giving him an impressive and commanding look.

All the way down the throne, on each side of the foot of the staircases, stood two digimons. Both were in their Mega forms, and both were pretty famous. One was a Wargreymon, but looked more like a Black Wargreymon, although there were some differences in terms of color, while the other was a Piedmon. Both were mostly black-and-white in color, with the Wargreymon having his breastplate in gold, and the Piedmon had red sashes. A MetalSeadramon was seen curling behind the throne. He had blue armor instead of the usual gold which normal MetalSeadramon had.

"Chaos Generals!" the young man called out suddenly with a loud, yet clear, voice. There was a commanding tone in his deep voice, and the call made the three Mega level digimons looked up and acknowledged the command. "Go now to the East sector and capture Azulongmon for me. I want him alive!"

The Wargreymon bowed his head a little. "It is as you wish, master." Piedmon and MetalSeadramon followed suit. Wargreymon, Piedmon and MetalSeadramon were the Chaos Generals as referred by the young man. Their names were actually Chaos Wargreymon, Chaos Piedmon and Chaos Seadramon. Each one of them had the power far beyond a normal Mega.

The three digimon instantly vanished from the bridge, and the viewing screen built around the bridge showed the three digimon flying out of the flying fortress and flew at great speed towards the mountainous area. Suddenly, the clouds covering the peak of the mountains shone brightly and emitted white lights as a massive, transparent, bluish dragon-like digimon came out from the clouds. The blue dragon was covered with chains around his body, and had many white wings. The blue dragon, Azulongmon, was one of the Harmonious Ones, and the sovereign of the east.

"It looks like Azulongmon's in the bag now," the young man muttered silently to himself, a faint smile formed on his face as he watched the battle going on between the four powerful Mega digimon.

* * *

Azulongmon had successfully countered all the attacks of the three Chaos Generals, and was on the winning side as he tackled Chaos Seadramon down with a mere slap with his long tail. He watched with slight bemusement as Chaos Seadramon was thrown nearly fifty feet away from him before the metallic armored snake regained his balance. 

"Be gone, intruders! Leave the East Sector now, or I will be forced to delete all of you!" Azulongmon shouted.

In terms of power and size, Azulongmon fared better. And the fact that he possessed far more immense power than any of the Chaos Generals made the battle to be on his side. However, while on one on one, each Chaos General was no match against the godly digimon but by working together they could pose as an equal match for the sovereign.

Thus, neither Chaos General backed off, despite the warning.

"Imbeciles!" Azulongmon roared, his voice thundered in all direction as his body shimmered in silverish blue light. The lights became brighter with each passing second, and soon all the Chaos Generals had to cover their eyes to protect themselves from blindened by the lights.

"Aurora Force!"

Azulongmon coiled his long, serpentine body into a circle, with the area covered by his body glowing with silverish-blue lights.It was a magnificent sight to behold, as the godly digimon prepared to give his all to thwart his enemies. The great blue dragon then unleashed the contained lights in multiple directions. The lights generated out from Azulongmon's body separated into smaller lightbeams, and were targetted towards the Chaos Generals.

Chaos Wargreymon saw one light-beam coming towards him. Smirking haughtily, he raised both hands towards the skies and channelled his powers to both hands to form an attack powerful enough to counter Azulongmon's powerful attack.

"Terra Force!"

A large orange energy ball formed from his hands and the dragon digimon hurled the attack to collide with the incoming lightbeam. The result was a deafening explosion which blew off the other light-beams away from Chaos Piedmon and Chaos Seadramon.

Chaos Piedmon snorted slightly and glared towards his comrade. "You may have stolen the spotlight now, Chaos Wargreymon, but the show is so far from over."

"Show off!" Chaos Seadramon added.

Chaos Wargreymon cocked his head towards the other two. "Let's see whether you two can do any better."

Azulongmon watched the three Chaos Generals warily with slight amusement, yet he knew all of them were powerful opponents and should he made one small error he could jeopardize his own safety.

"I'll show him!" Chaos Seadramon slithered his way towards the ten-times larger Azulongmon but was stopped by Chaos Piedmon.

"Let's not be too rash, friend. Azulongmon swiped you away easily just now."

"What do you have in mind?"

"Watch!" Chaos Piedmon eyed Azulongmon with those pair of yellow eyes behind his black-and-white face mask. He muttered something which neither Chaos Seadramon and Chaos WarGreymon understood and took out a black hankerchief. Azulongmon however, knew what he had in mind.

"Don't you have some other trick, bozo?" Azulongmon asked wearily and initiated a force-field around him. He was well aware that Chaos Piedmon's hankerchief had the uncanny ability to turn any living thing it touched into a keychain. Two jets of thin yellow lights shot out from two of Azulongmon's four eyes and burnt the hankerchief. "I won't fall into the same trick twice, Piedmon!"

"Piedmon? My, you must have mistaken me with a common Piedmon, friend," Chaos Piedmon replied and laughed airily. "I am no such digimon. I am, in all actuality, a much more powerful digimon than my multi-colored cousins. The name is Chaos Piedmon, remember that as I am going to be your downfall."

Azulongmon was however unimpressed. "I see no difference." Yet, he recalled how Piedmon, the Dark Master he had encountered a long time ago, had defeated him using his hankerchief easily because Azulongmon and the other sovereigns had overlooked the hanky's unexpected ability. Knowing Chaos Piedmon would be even more powerful than a normal Piedmon, Azulongmon dared not to underestimate his opponents. Especially Chaos Wargreymon, as he was not familiar with the digimon's battle technique. The battle he had with Piedmon, MetalSeadramon and the other two Dark Masters long ago hadgiven him somei nsights on how Chaos Piedmon and Chaos Seadramon's own ways.

* * *

Inside the ship however, the young man was growing impatient. 

"This is getting too long and boring," he noted as he stroke the BlackGatomon who was sleeping peacefully on his lap. He thought for a while, and smiled coldly.

"Perhaps a dose of Digiranium-embedded rings should do the trick just fine . . . " he muttered and left the words hanging as he gave out the command.

* * *

Five huge, thin silver rings looked like larger versions of the Digimon Emperor's Dark Rings then flew out from the fortress towards Azulongmon and the three Chaos Generals. The five rings came to Azulongmon from all directions and generated a barrier around him, trapping him in the process. Azulongmon tried to break free from the rings, but to no avail. Instead, he felt himself weaker as if his power was being drained. The five rings let out dark green lights which filled the enclosed barrier. 

"It cannot end like this!" Azulongmon thought desperately as he summoned his powers. Although the rings were weakening him, Azulongmon was no ordinary digimon and he felt that he was still capable of fighting. Unfortunately however, he felt that his power was being drained at an alarmingly speed.

"Aurora Force!" he called out and the lights emitted from his body blasted off from his body and tried to impale the barrier. The green lights however had reduced his prowess, and the barrier was too strong that his attack simply backfired. The rings then proceed by decreasing Azulongmon's colossal size slowly until he was no larger than Chaos Wargreymon.

The Chaos Generals watched with interest. "The master surely has some style in capturing digimon," Chaos Seadramon noted in awe.

"Agreed." Chaos Piedmon didn't know what else to say. "I'm only glad over the fact that he had never used that on us."

"Hmm," Chaos Wargreymon grunted as he descended near his two comrades. The two other generals however, just scowled back at him in annoyance and flew back towards the ship escorting the trapped Azulongmon, which was pulled towards the ship by some kind of force generating from the ship itself. Chaos Wargreymon shrugged and followed them.

* * *

In the bridge, the young man was smiling evilly towards the screen, as he watched his prize being brought to him by his minions. Four computer generated images appeared before him, showing holograms of a blue dragon, a red bird, a black turtle, and a white tiger. The four images positioned themselves to form a square, and the image of the blue dragon was covered with a yellow barrier. 

"Azulongmon is captured," he said and watched the image of the black turtle intently. "Ebonwumon of the North is next. It will be only a matter of _time_ before I have my ultimate prize."

* * *

Later that day, various digimon had gathered at Asuka City. Alarming news had reached them, saying that the four Harmonious Ones had been captured once again by an unknown force. It had caused uproar throughout the Digital World, making everyone began to fear for their safeties. The digimon who had showed up were all the partners of the Digidestined, including Agumon, Gabumon, Biyomon, Tentomon, Palmon and Gomamon. Their allies were there as well, all were familiar faces such as Leomon, Ogremon, Centarumon, Frigimon, Meramon, Wizardmon and Andromon. 

A young man, clad in a cream-colored set of long robes with a hood with brown linings and black inner shirt and pants, was seen within the group of alarmed digimons. He was a tall man, roughly around 6''1. His dark brown hair was tied in a ponytail, complimenting his good looks. He stood in silent, watching the commotion while thinking of the best way to silence all of the digimons to begin planning for the best way to handle the situation.

As he set his shining blue eyes on the six Digidestined digimon, he silently thought to himself that he couldn't blame them for being so alarmed. After almost half-a-year of peace, the sudden news of the capture of the four Harmonious Ones was not something that they had expected. All began to wonder whether a new evil had set sight on their world. The young man, known to all as Gennai, one of the protectors of the Digital World, was shocked as well after hearing the news, although throughout the times of peace, he had constantly reminded himself to be constantly on alert for situations like this.

The crowd was growing larger, with more and more digimon coming there to participate in the meeting. Although in dire situation like this, Gennai couldn't help but to think that at least he was glad to see all digimons, with various shapes, sizes, classifications and types, all united as one, ready to stand up for their world.

"It was what that had kept us together," Gennai thought to himself. "As they say, united we stand, divided we fall. Now is definitely the time to unite." He scanned the area, and watched the digimons shouting out their opinions towards each other.

_"I say we gather up all of the Megas and Ultimates to go and attack the flying fortress!" _

_"Send a few spies to go and report us of any activity happened there!"_

_"I'll go there myself if I have to!"_

_"No! We have to do it together!"_

_"Who's behind this? Just wait till I get my hands on him!"_

Gennai cleared his throat loudly, and beckoned all digimons to listen to him. Suddenly, and surprisingly, the noises, the loud chatters, all stopped abruptly as each and every digimon present focused on Gennai, anticipating of what he was going to say. Seeing that the crowd all had their eyes on him, Gennai spoke up loudly on what he had in mind.

"In my opinion, it is time to call back our human allies."


	2. From Out of Nowhere

**DISCLAIMER: ** I do not own Digimons. So far, I own only Chaos Specter. This is the first chapter, hope you'll enjoy it. Please review after you've finished reading it, I'd really appreciate it, thanks.

** ***************************

** VENGEANCE   
- Chapter 01 - From Out of Nowhere -**

** by **

** Alforce Zero**

**2nd June 2003  
**  
It was the first day of the Digidestined's school's summer holidays. Normally, it was the time for the kids to relax and enjoy their three months long holiday by doing activities which they didn't get to do during the schooldays. As for the Digidestined, they were no different. They were going to do what the six of them loved to do the most, but didn't get to do much - to visit the Digiworld, visit the digimons, explore the different parts of the Digiworld globe which they hadn't had the chance to step foot onto for almost three months already. They were hoping that their summer holidays would be filled with adventures. Ever since the defeat of MaloMyotismon, nothing had really happened at the Digiworld, and while they appreciated all the peacefulness of the Digiworld, which the world rarely got, since there just had to be someone to go around and threatened to conquer the world, still they longed to do what they used to do the year before. 

**~ ~ 8.20 a.m. ~ ~**

All six Digidestined had promised to meet up at T.K.'s place, and go to the Digiworld from there at 9.00 in the morning. At the Takaishi's residence, T.K. was sitting in front of the brand new desktop computer his mother had recently bought. He was surfing the internet, checking his e-mails and chatting with the other Digidestined. Patamon, his orange, guinea-pig look-a-like digimon partner with a pair of bat-like wings, was sitting on the table besides the keyboard, watching the monitor with mild interest, and was reading all of T.K.'s messages. T.K. had been chatting with Kari, Yolei and Ken, and their last messages told him that they were going to log-off the net to go to his house. T.K. clicked the upper right X button of the window displaying the chatting program, switching it off and turned to look at his partner.

"You wanna eat?" he asked Patamon and got up from the chair. "Mom's gone to work early as usual, so I'll make some breakfast for all of us." Patamon nodded quickly and followed T.K. towards the kitchen. Nancy Takaishi, T.K.'s mom, was an extremely busy journalist and recently she had been working on a story which she had called a 'hot case', and always had to rush to work early in the morning. The only time T.K. got to see his mom was when Nancy went to his bedroom early in the morning to kiss him goodbye before going to work, and at nights. Though busy, Nancy had made it a point not to work after dinner to spend time with her youngest son. Her first son, Matt, was living with her ex-husband. 

"Let's see what we have..." T.K. said as he rummaged the freezer, while Patamon watching anxiously. T.K. then withdrew two large boxes of frozen pizza. "Pizzas... with mushrooms, cheese, pepperoni, some veggies, chicken..." he murmured as he tore open the boxes. Patamon flew towards the microwave to switch it on. T.K. then placed one pizza inside the microwave and set the timer for it to heat the frozen pizza for twenty minutes. As he glanced to see the time at the kitchen's clock, he saw the time - 8.30 a.m. "Still early." He and Patamon then went back to the living room, as T.K. didn't switch the computer off. Suddenly, from afar, he saw that the monitor was flickering weirdly, and approached it immediately. The monitor was indeed flickering, one moment there was only blackness displayed on the screen which looked like it had been switched off, and then the monitor would flash white lights, and black again...

"What happened with the monitor, T.K.?" Patamon asked worriedly. "Mom's not going to be happy about this, she had just bought the computer, you know." After staying with T.K. and Nancy for so long, Patamon finally followed T.K.'s urge to call Nancy as 'mom'. He had been calling T.K.'s half-French, half-Japanese mother 'Ms. Takaishi', or 'mam', and imagine Nancy's delight when one day, Patamon called her mom. Nancy had known of the digimon for almost four years, ever since Myotismon's invasion on Odaiba. When T.K. took Patamon to stay with him, the digimon constantly hide himself from Nancy, and only after months later, before the invasion of Daemon Corps, the digimon warmed up and started calling Nancy mom as well. 

T.K. shook his head. "I don't know, Patamon. I've never seen it like this." Suddenly, a blurry image began to form on the monitor. As T.K. and Patamon strained their eyes to identify the image, the image became more and more clear, until a face of young man they knew only too well appeared before them. "Gennai!" 

_"T.K.! I'm so glad that I could reach you!"_ Gennai exclaimed. _"There's been trouble in the Digiworld, and we need your help."_ There was an unmistakably desperate tone in his voice, and T.K. noticed the sorrowful expression on the digi-human's face.

"What's wrong? The six of us are going there anyway today, I'm waiting for the others to arrive."

_"The four Harmonious Ones had been captured by an unknown force, T.K.! Without them, the balance of the Digiworld had been disrupted again. Gateways began to open again at different places in your world, and there have been numerous attacks on our world at different part of the globe. Some of the digimons that attempted to fight the new forces of evil had been deleted!"_

T.K.'s expression darkened. "A new force of evil? How can this be? Is it Daemon?"

_"No. I am not even sure that the evil force is a digimon at all. He is called Chaos Specter!" _

Patamon moved closer to the monitor. "How did this Chaos Specter managed to capture the Harmonious Ones in the first place?"

_"He has control of three powerful Mega level digimons ready at his disposal. ChaosWarGreymon, ChaosSeadramon, and ChaosPiedmon," _ Gennai replied, with a slightly impatient tone in his voice. _"I will tell you as soon as all of you are here."_

**~ ~ 8.50 a.m. ~ ~**

Cody, Yolei, Kari and Ken, along with their partner digimons - Armadillomon, Hawkmon, Gatomon and Wormmon, had arrived at T.K.'s place ten minutes before 9, and were eating the pizza T.K. had set for them, and listened as T.K. related what Gennai had informed him earlier. Gennai had disappeared from T.K.'s computer's monitor, saying that he had other urgent matters to attend to immediately, but he would wait for them to come.

"Where's Davis?" T.K. suddenly asked after noticing that they were one member short. "He's not going to be late now, is he? The Digiworld is in trouble..." he glanced at his watch impatiently. "If he's not here by nine we would have to leave him."

Ken chuckled slightly. "I've called the Motomiyas residence earlier, and his sister June informed me that Davis was on his way. The way she described it, I think Davis had overslept again. He should be here any minute." True enough, a couple of minutes later they heard someone running towards the door, and the bell rang. 

"T.J.! We're here!" A familiar voice called out from the foyer. T.K. got up and went to welcome Davis and Veemon in, groaning slightly after hearing that Davis had called him wrongly again. He was rather amused when he saw both of them were panting loudly, sweats all over their faces. He decided not to reprimand them just yet, since they were in fact, on time. Davis grinned sheepishly as he glanced at his watch. "Whew... made it on time." Veemon looked at T.K., who was staring at both of them, nervously.

"You better come in. If you're not hurry Armadillomon will finish up all the pizzas," T.K. finally said. He then led Davis and Veemon towards the living room, and briefly told him of what Gennai had informed him and Patamon earlier as Davis and Veemon snatched a pizza each and ate them quickly. After they had finished breakfast, Kari and Yolei helped T.K. to clean up the table, while the other boys went to close all doors and windows to make sure that no one would enter the house while they were gone. The six of them, with their digimons, gathered in front of the computer and the Digidestined all held out their D3s towards the monitor.

"DIGI-PORT, OPEN!"

* * *

**Location: The Digiworld**

The flying fortress, which was known as the Chaos Fortress, was last seen by the Digiworld inhabitants at the South Sector, where the new evil being known as Chaos Specter went to capture Zhuqiaomon, the most powerful Harmonious Ones among the four. He had made four special prisons used to imprison Azulongmon, Baihumon, Ebonwumon and Zhuqiaomon. The prisons looked like cylinder glass tubes, and actually there was nothing inside the tubes. The Harmonious Ones were trapped inside another dimension parallel to the Digiworld, found by Chaos Specter by chance; using the digital Keycards he had obtained somehow. The special prisons then linked the Harmonious Ones with the tubes, displaying their silhouettes only. They would be able to communicate with others in the Digiworld, but there would be no way for them to escape from the prisons, even though the glass tubes were shattered. 

Chaos Specter, glad of his success of capturing the Harmonious Ones, decided to leave the Digiworld in peace for a while, while he planned on how to conquer the whole Digiworld. He ordered the digimons navigating the Chaos Fortress to lift the fortress up towards the skies and hid inside the clouds to avoid detection from any digimons. 

"By now, that wretch Gennai should have called those Digidestined to come here," Chaos Specter said thoughtfully as he looked at the viewing screen in front of him, which wasn't displaying anything. "I shall be waiting, and when they do come I will challenge their digimons to fight my Chaos Generals," he muttered as he looked at his three mighty Mega level digimons - ChaosWarGreymon, ChaosSeadramon and ChaosPiedmon. The three digimons were silent as stones, talking only when they were ordered to. 

"You will never get away with this, Chaos Specter!" a voice boomed from behind the throne. Chaos Specter smirked slightly, and the throne turned backwards, and Chaos Specter found himself facing the four prison tubes which trapped the four Harmonious Ones. The tubes were about three meters high, and each different was different in color. There were blue, white, green and red, imprisoning Azulongmon, Baihumon, Ebonwumon and Zhuqiaomon respectively. Chaos Specter then fixed his eyes towards the tube which stood at the farthest left, the blue tube which contain Azulongmon in it. The blue dragon, his original massive size was reduced to a mere two-something meter high shadow, stared at Chaos Specter with an unmistakably angered expression, evident from his many eyes.

"We'll see about that," Chaos Specter replied coolly, and smiled slightly. "Now that the four of you were captured... again... Gennai must have sent words to the Digidestined by now. My Chaos Generals will beat them to pulp, and then there would be nothing to stop me!" He laughed loudly, with some insulting tones thrown towards the four Harmonious Ones.

"Darkness will never prevail against the power of Light!" Azulongmon exclaimed, with a calmer note in his voice now. 

"You're talking cryptic, old dragon," Chaos Specter muttered, although he really understood what Azulongmon had meant. A small alarm sounds erupted from the viewing screen, catching his attention before he could say anything else towards Azulongmon. Instead, his green eyes then suddenly became cold, and he simply nodded. The throne responded to his action and turned back, and Chaos Specter found himself opposite the viewing screen again. He then saw what he wanted to saw on the viewing screen.

"So... they've arrived!" Chaos Specter said slowly as he observed the viewing screen, which showed the six Digidestined came out from a small television set situated at a grasslands area. Gennai was seen there too, obviously waiting for the Digidestined to arrive. Chaos Specter then turned his attention, looking at his three Chaos Generals. The three digimons looked up towards their master, awaiting their orders.

"Defeat the Digidestined, once and for all!"

* * *

"It feels great to be back!" Veemon cried happily.

Gatomon just looked around her and shook her head slightly. "I wish we are here on better circumstances." The Digidestined agreed to her words as they looked around them. At their world, it was morning, yet the sun was shining brightly as if it was already afternoon, due to summer. The Digiworld instead was dark, unfortunately due the gray clouds which covered the sunshine. 

"What's with the clouds?" Cody asked.

"I don't really know the reason, children," Gennai replied. "But ever since the Harmonious Ones were captured by Chaos Specter, the skies had always been dark, and cloudy. It's as if that their absence had caused all this, although this situation didn't happen before when they were captured by the Dark Masters." 

"Maybe the balance of the Digiworld has somehow been disturbed," Ken suggested. 

"I think so, too," Gennai nodded in agreement.

Davis crossed his arms across his chest, and looked straight towards Gennai. "Why does Azulongmon and the others are always the target, and why are they always so easily been captured? I mean, they are the Harmonious ones, I suppose they have to be the most powerful digimons in this world."

"I know what you're thinking, Davis," Gennai said, and took a deep breath. "I came to know from Azulongmon that while the four of them are indeed powerful, but their powers are pretty much limited into the regions where they are guarding. For example, Azulongmon guards here, the Eastern region. Within the Eastern region is the Seiryuu sector, the place of origin of Azulongmon, which makes Azulongmon at his best when he was there. The farther he moved away from his region, the weaker he became, until when he finally crossed out of the Eastern sector, his powers will be on par with any other Mega level digimon."

Yolei frowned. "I don't think the other digimons have that kind of limitations. I know our digimons have not."

"Yes. The real reason of the limitations is unknown, but it is known to happen only to the four of them."

"But last time, Azulongmon easily sent BlackWarGreymon away with a little demonstrations of his powers," Cody pointed out, referring to the incident when they were defending the last of the Destiny Stones from being destroyed by BlackWarGreymon, Arukenimon and Mummymon. 

"Although he was weaker then, but he still had tremendous amount of powers, which would be sufficient enough for him to defend himself from BlackWarGreymon, should the latter engaged him into a fight." Gennai then looked at the sky again, and for a while he seemed to be dazed as he seemed not to even blink his eyes at all until after almost a minute, he blinked and looked towards the Digidestined. "I think we better head towards Asuka sector first, and plan our moves there."

"Right," T.K. agreed, and the others followed suit.

"Where is the Asuka sector, Gennai?" Kari asked.

"It is situated inside this region too. The Asuka sector is just nearby, around a couple of miles from here," Gennai answered. They began to walk their way towards the Asuka sector, as Gennai filled them in with all the details of what had happened in the Digiworld.

T.K. was walking behind the others, with Patamon resting on his shoulders. The two of them were brainstorming each other whether they had left the house in perfect order, when suddenly a slight breeze of wind made both of them feeling uneasy. They looked around and towards their friends, but they seemed not to notice anything. T.K. then stopped walking and looked behind him, and squinted his eyes towards the gray clouds on the skies, when suddenly he saw three points of small lights came out from the clouds. The lights grew larger, and T.K. froze as he saw three Mega level digimons flying towards them.

"Guys..." his voice trailed off. The others stopped walking immediately, hearing the unusual tone of T.K.'s voice. T.K. pointed his right hand towards the three digimons. "I think we're in trouble."

Gennai ran towards T.K. and gasped. "Oh no! The Chaos Generals!"

"You mean the ones that had battled and captured Azulongmon and the rest?" Davis asked as he reached out for his D3, which was inside of his jacket's pocket. 

"Yes," Gennai agreed. "We better hide."

"But why? I think we should fight them instead. Besides, where else can we hide from them?" Davis protested, and beckoned the others to look around them. They were at the grasslands; everywhere around them were only grass, grass and more grass. 

"We're indeed in very deep trouble, now that Davis actually makes sense," Yolei said. "He's right, we've no where else to go." 

Gennai looked at them helplessly. "You can't! You're no match for them! The three of them are Mega digimons!" Gennai then looked as the six Digidestined pulled out their D3s, and held them towards their partners.

[The Digivolution theme Brave Heart played in the background]

"VEEMON DIGIVOLVE TO... EXVEEMON!"

"WORMMON DIGIVOLVE TO... STINGMON!"

"HAWKMON DIGIVOLVE TO... AQUILAMON!"

"ARMADILLOMON DIGIVOLVE TO... ANKYLOMON!"

"PATAMON DIGIVOLVE TO... ANGEMON!"

The five newly-digivolved Champion digimons, joined by Gatomon, took their positions as they waited for the Chaos Generals to arrive. ChaosWarGreymon was the first to arrive, followed by ChaosPiedmon while ChaosSeadramon hovered on the sky.

"Champion digimons?" ChaosPiedmon said sarcastically. "I don't believe this. This should be a piece of cake." He then charged first towards the Digidestined. "TRUMP SWORDS!!" he cried out and sent flying swords towards the destined digimons. 

"HAND OF FATE!!" Angemon sent out his most powerful attack, deleting the swords instantly. He then flew in front, and cried out. "Let's take him together. HAND OF FATE!!" The second attack was launched directly towards ChaosPiedmon.

"I'm with you Angemon. VEE LASER!!" ExVeemon joined in, sending out an X-formed crimson laser from his body. 

"BLAST RINGS!!" Aquilamon joined in, firing spiral energy blasts from his eyes. 

All three attacks were focused on ChaosPiedmon, but the Mega simply extended his hands forward and deflected their attacks back towards themselves, sending the three air-borne digimons flying back towards the Digidestined.

"Oh no!" Davis cried. "DNA-Digivolve now!" He commanded and held out his D3, gesturing for Ken to follow his suit. Nothing happened.

"You can't DNA-digivolve now that Gatomon got back her Tail Ring," Gennai said slowly. Davis remained silent, his expression froze in fear. They continued to watch as their digimons were losing the battle.

ChaosPiedmon alone now was battling all six destined digimons, and was winning, while ChaosSeadramon and ChaosWarGreymon just watched the battle. To make up of their lack of energy, the Champions decided to attack ChaosPiedmon from all directions.

"SPIKING STRIKE!!"

"LIGHTNING CLAW!!"

"TAIL HAMMER!!"

ChaosPiedmon jumped in mid-air, evading Ankylomon's Tail Hammer. He countered Stingmon's Spiking Strike just as easily by sending the insectoid digimon away with his swords, but wasn't quick enough to evade Gatomon as the little kitty scratched his head with her Lightning Claw, believed to be the fastest attack among all digimons. ChaosPiedmon was furious and immediately kicked Gatomon down. As he swiftly descended to the grounds to finish of Gatomon, he was hit from three directions, which made him stagger a little. ChaosPiedmon hovered in mid-air, glaring at his attackers furiously. ExVeemon, Angemon and Aquilamon returned the glare with the same amount of anger.

"That's NO way to treat a lady," Aquilamon commented coolly as he stared back at ChaosPiedmon. Angemon used the time to glide swiftly beneath ChaosPiedmon and retrieved Gatomon. 

"You okay, Gatomon?" Angemon asked. 

"Yes, thanks guys," Gatomon replied back. "Hey..." her voice trailed off as her Tail Ring glowed pink, and unattached itself from Gatomon's tail. Gatomon felt as her powers drained away, leaving her slightly weakened with a power level almost similar to a Rookie. The Tail Ring hovered in mid-air and sent out six rays of pink lights towards the six digimons. The Digidestined's D3s glowed again with their respective colors.

"I believe it's time to DNA-digivolve now!" Davis exclaimed and held out his D3, with Ken following suit.

"EXVEEMON.." "STINGMON.." ".. DNA-DIGIVOLVE TO.. PAILDRAMON!!"

"AQUILAMON.." "GATOMON.." "..DNA-DIGIVOLVE TO.. SILPHYMON!!"

"ANKYLOMON.." "ANGEMON.." "..DNA-DIGIVOLVE TO.. SHAKKOUMON!!"

"So, you all DNA-digivolved. Hmmh, big deal," ChaosPiedmon mocked them. "You're all in Ultimate levels, which is still a level below us."

"Then it's time to even up the odds," Davis said. "Paildramon, digivolve again now!"

"PAILDRAMON.. MEGA-DIGIVOLVE TO.. IMPERIALDRAMON!!"

Imperialdramon, in his massive, Dragon Mode, took his position in front of ChaosPiedmon, while Silphymon and Shakkoumon moved to the left and right sides of the Chaos general. 

"All together now, let's give him what we got! POSITRON LASER!!" Imperialdramon cried and fired his Positron Laser towards the hovering Mega-digimon. 

"ASTRO LASER!!"

"JUSTICE BEAM!!" 

The combined attacks of Imperialdramon, Silphymon and Shakkoumon did the trick as ChaosPiedmon was sent flying towards the other two generals. The clown-digimon was extremely angered by the defeat, considering that he had lost his face in front of his other team mates.

"No fair! You're all despicable!" he cried out. ChaosPiedmon then got up and wiped all the dusts off his garments. 

"I'll show you how it's done, ChaosPiedmon!" ChaosSeadramon said coolly and glided towards the three DNA-digivolved digimons. 

"Be my guest, ChaosSeadramon!" he spat furiously.

ChaosWarGreymon snickered silently as he and his defeated fellow general watched ChaosSeadramon battling the Digidestined. "This should be interesting. Calm down, will you? I believe this is the farthest the two Ultimates can go, while that Mega digimon can change into a stronger fighting form. After ChaosSeadramon weakened them, I'll deliver the finishing touch to finish them off once and for all." The two evil Mega digimons then focused their attentions towards the ongoing battle between ChaosSeadramon and the three good digimons.

"RIVER OF POWER!!" ChaosSeadramon exclaimed, and his metallic snout fired a devastating blue energy ray towards Imperialdramon. The Mega digimon was hit and was thrown towards Silphymon and Shakkoumon, accidentally crushing the two smaller Ultimates and forced them to de-digivolved back into Gatomon, Hawkmon, Patamon and Armadillomon.

"Oh no! We've de-digivolved!" Gatomon cried and immediately leapt to her feat to flee from the battlefield. The other three Rookies joined her, and the four of them joined their partner as they watched the battle between Imperialdramon and ChaosSeadramon ensued. 

"Can you guys digivolve?" T.K. asked worriedly.

"No..we don't have enough energy," Patamon replied back. "But I think we can try Armor-digivolving."

"Then let's do it!" T.K. said and held forward his D3, with Yolei, Kari and Cody following his lead. 

Suddenly, four swords coming from out of nowhere and hit the Digidestined's D3s. The D3s let out a cracking sound, and small electrical rays shot out from them, until finally the four D3s disintegrated. The four Digidestined were horrified of what had just happened. A loud laughter came from afar, and they saw ChaosPiedmon. He was laughing mockingly towards the four of them.

"Trying to help your friend? I don't think so," he said, with venom in his words. "Consider this a payback, Digidestined, for humiliating me!" ChaosPiedmon walked back to join ChaosWarGreymon.

T.K., Kari, Yolei and Cody were speechless. Without the D3s, they could never make their partners digivolve. T.K. cried furiously and thumped his fist onto the grounds. Kari was silent, she was hugging Gatomon, and everyone could hear as she tried her best to stifle her sobs. Yolei, in the other hand, didn't even bother, and sobbed, while Cody was trying to comfort her, he himself was speechless and shaken. 

Davis and Ken saw what happened to their friends' D3s, and were angered as well. "Imperialdramon, Mode Change now!"

"IMPERIALDRAMON, MODE CHANGE TO.. FIGHTER MODE!!" A taller, more humanoid version of Imperialdramon appeared before them, and ChaosSeadramon backed away a little, slightly awed by the transformation. Imperialdramon Fighter Mode (FM) aimed his cannon towards ChaosSeadramon, and cried out. "POSITRON LASER!!"

"GIGA ICE BLAST!!" ChaosSeadramon retaliated, trying to counter Imperialdramon FM's attack, but the ice blasts was blown up by the Positron Laser attack, and the attack directly hit ChaosSeadramon, sending him flying towards ChaosPiedmon and ChaosWarGreymon. 

"That didn't go to well," ChaosPiedmon said sarcastically towards the fallen ChaosSeadramon. The latter just groaned and told the clown to shut up. 

"My turn," ChaosWarGreymon lifted himself towards the sky. Seeing that, Imperialdramon FM planned to take on the battle on the sky, to prevent the Digidestined and Gennai from getting hurt. The two Mega digimons began battling each other as soon as they flew above the clouds. 

"TERRA FORCE!!"

"POSITRON LASER!!"

The two powerful attacks caused an explosion in mid-air, and after the sky was cleared, both digimons were still standing firmly. They then continued to fight each other furiously, both seemed to be equal in terms of strength. Explosion after explosion ensued, but none were victorious. For almost half an hour, the battle continued.

From below, the two fallen Chaos Generals were growing impatient. "That arrogant ChaosWarGreymon said that this was supposed to be easy," ChaosSeadramon muttered. "Until now, he can't defeat the brats' Mega digimon." 

ChaosPiedmon nodded simply. "In that case, we'll have to play it dirty then. If any of us managed to destroy the remaining two kids' digivices, then that Imperialdramon will de-digivolve, and we'll have an easy win."

"What's your plan?" ChaosSeadramon asked. ChaosPiedmon then told him what he was thinking.

Meanwhile, the Digidestined themselves were watching the battle. T.K. had calmed down, and was now comforting Kari, whom had stopped sobbing but still looked as if she was in verge of crying anytime. Cody was sitting beside him, his face was expressionless. T.K. felt pity towards the youngest Digidestined, and slit his free left arm around the boy's shoulder. The comfort from T.K. finally broke the walls inside Cody, as he tried to stifle his tears. 

"No, let it out, Cody," T.K. said softly. "It'll help." Kari lifted her face and moved away from T.K., and hugged the young boy. Cody sniffled, and Kari joined in again. T.K. looked around helplessly. He saw that Ken was doing not much better than he was, as he and Hawkmon tried to calm Yolei down. Davis, on the other hand, had his eyes fixed on the battle.

"Hey, where's Gatomon?" Kari asked suddenly, after she and Cody had regained their composures. 

"Armadillomon, too," Cody stood up and wiped the remaining tears in his face with the long sleeve of his brown shirt. He and Kari walked off to try to find their partners, but suddenly, the other Digidestined heard Cody and Kari screaming loudly. They all ran towards the direction where they had heard their friends' screams, and was shocked to find that ChaosSeadramon had Kari, Cody, Gatomon and Armadillomon firmly grasped by his long, metallic body. ChaosPiedmon was standing beside the enormous sea-dragon digimon, with an evil expression plastered on his black-and-white face.

"Let them go!!" Davis yelled angrily and tried to run towards ChaosSeadramon, but was stopped by both Ken and Yolei, both were holding his jackets. 

"I don't think so, brats!" ChaosPiedmon said. "Only after you agree with our deal..." he stopped for a while due to another explosion from the sky, from the duel of the two Megas. 

"No deals, clown face!" T.K. shouted. "You let them go right now!"

"Only after you.." ChaosPiedmon gestured towards Davis and Ken. "..surrender your digivices to us!"

"Don't do it guys!" Kari cried in pain as ChaosSeadramon tightened his grasp. Cody, Armadillomon and Gatomon were screaming as well, but they cried out to them not to surrender the D3s as well. "If you do it, it will be the end of all of us. Don't trust them!" Kari continued to say, her voice sounded weak.

Davis and Ken looked at each other. "We don't have a choice, Davis," Ken said and put a hand on Davis's right shoulder. Both of them looked at Gennai, who merely nodded, saying that the lives of their friends were much more important. Ken and T.K. agreed as well.

"I guess you're right," Davis said slowly and looked at his D3. His hand was shaking, and he noticed that, so was Ken's. Davis and Ken walked towards ChaosPiedmon and surrendered their D3s, and ChaosPiedmon gleefully took them, and instantly crushed both D3s with his right hand, sending out the D3s particles everywhere. The two Mega digimons laughed heartily on their success. Another explosion occurred on the sky, but this time, just right after the explosion, both Veemon and Wormmon were thrown down onto the grounds with a loud thud, powers gone due to the destruction of the D3s. ChaosWarGreymon descended down slowly afterwards, laughing.

"Now let them go!" Davis snarled.

"Let them go? No way!" ChaosPiedmon replied back and laughed evilly. "A lesson we have to teach to you kids today. Never, ever, mess with the Chaos Generals! ChaosWarGreymon, will you do the honor and DESTROY the boy, the girl, and their digimons now!"

"With pleasure," ChaosWarGreymon said and walked towards the grasped Digidestined and their digimons. The Digidestined screamed angrily as the evil version of WarGreymon approached ChaosSeadramon. He lifted his right hand, forming a small Terra Destroyer, and cast a mocking look towards Kari. "Well, little girl. You shall be the first. Before you die, will you care to tell me your name?" He laughed heartily as he saw tears trickled from Kari's eyes.

Kari looked at ChaosWarGreymon, and trembled in fear, knowing that she was about to be killed by the evil dragon. Suddenly, memories of his parents and big brother flooded before her. 'Tai...' she thought desperately. 'Where are you..' As she thought about Tai, she was reminded of Agumon. Never had she expect that she would die in the hands of a WarGreymon, the digimon whom she had always admired. 'This is it,' she said silently as she breathed out, "Kari."

Instantly, ChaosWarGreymon stopped approaching her, and Kari saw that his right hand was trembling slightly. As she was wondering whether she had seen it correctly, the Terra Force energy ball faded from the dragon's hand. ChaosWarGreymon stared at Kari's ruby eyes for a while, and whispered hoarsely. "K..Kari?" Kari didn't know what else to do, and in a mixed feeling of hope and confusion, slowly she nodded her head.

Then, an unexpected thing happened. ChaosWarGreymon turned around, his back facing Kari and the others and he walked back towards ChaosPiedmon. "You've made a deal with the two boys, ChaosPiedmon. Now keep your part of the deal."

ChaosPiedmon was flustered. "But..but.."

"NO BUTS!!" ChaosWarGreymon thundered, sending shivers down the spines of everyone in the area. ChaosWarGreymon then turned towards ChaosSeadramon. "YOU! Let go of them now!!"

ChaosSeadramon was shocked as well, and released his grip, freeing Kari, Cody, Gatomon and Armadillomon instantly. The four of them quickly ran past forward ChaosWarGreymon, and Kari cast a quick glance towards ChaosWarGreymon. Her eyes caught the dragon's eyes, and she silently mouthed 'thank-you' towards the latter. ChaosWarGreymon didn't give any sort of reply, but his eyes followed Kari until she was safe with the other Digidestined. He then turned back towards ChaosPiedmon and ChaosSeadramon. "Let's go. We've finished here." He then flew off instantly.

"The master is NOT going to be happy when he finds out about this," ChaosPiedmon muttered angrily. He and ChaosSeadramon then flew off following ChaosWarGreymon, leaving the Digidestined, the digimons and Gennai feeling confused of what had just happened.

"What now?" Davis asked, and looked at the dust particles on the grounds, the remaining forms of his and Ken's D3s. He scooped up the remaining dust with his hands and placed it inside his jacket pockets. The other Digidestined, and Gennai, didn't know what else to do, but they knew that now that the digimons could no longer digivolve, they could never stop Chaos Specter's plan to conquer the Digiworld. Not knowing what else to do, Gennai suggested that they headed to Asuka sector to plan their next moves.

* * *

** to be continued...**

**There, the first chapter is finished. About how the Harmonious Ones trapped inside those glass tubes prisons, just imagine Zordon in those Power Rangers series :) Anyway please review this chapter and if you have any suggestions on improving the story, do tell! **


	3. Asuka Laboratory

**DISCLAIMER: ** I do not own Digimons. So far, I own only Chaos Specter. This is the second chapter; containing explanations to set up the story for upcoming chapters. Just a note though - my English is not very good, so please excuse some errors here and there, and also for the lack of in depth description of a few places, characters and things featured in this chapter.

Note: The Vengeance series are in continuation with the Digimon anime, and the movie too, minus the third part onwards (Golden Digi-Eggs)

** ***************************

** VENGEANCE   
- Chapter 02 - Asuka Laboratory -**

** by **

** Alforce Zero**

  
**Location: The Digiworld, in Asuka Sector**

Gennai took the seven defeated Digidestined to Asuka Sector, where all of their former allies had regrouped. He assured them that he had a plan, which might be able to help them deal with the losses of their D3s earlier. The Digidestined split up, with T.K., Cody and Ken followed Gennai to Asuka City, a city built within the sector; while Davis, Kari and Yolei opted to look around the vast garden outside the city. 

Kari was lost in her own thoughts. "Why do you think ChaosWarGreymon set us free after hearing my name?" she asked Yolei, who was sitting with her beside a river flowing near Asuka City. She looked at the lavender-haired girl, who was a year older than her. Yolei just stared at the river, not saying anything. Both of them were still saddened by the destruction of their D3s, but had regained composure and were hoping that Gennai had the solutions for the problem. 

"That's indeed strange, but I'm glad he did that," a male voice suddenly chipped in. The two girls turned around and saw Davis, their presumed leader of the group, standing behind them. His digimon partner, Veemon, joined Gatomon and Hawkmon playing stone-throwing nearby. "I don't know the reason, but seems to me that it had to do with that keeping-a-promise stuffs that ChaosWarGreymon and ChaosPiedmon were disagreeing about."

Yolei frowned. "Davis, they are the bad guys! I don't think that keeping-a-promise was the case," she snapped irritably, but her expression softened a little instantly. "I'm sorry Davis, for snapping just like that. I..."

"It's okay, I know how you feel," Davis cut her back, and joined the two girls sitting beside the river. "I hate feeling like this, you know, powerless and all, not being able to help," he said slowly as he looked at their three partner digimons, who were sitting a little bit farther than them. They were throwing stones into the river. "They seemed to take it really well," he gestured to the laughing Veemon, Gatomon and Armadillomon.

Kari smiled slightly. "Gatomon assured me that everything will be okay soon. She said that something good will turn up." Kari's expression then changed slightly. "I hope so." 

"Me too," Yolei said, and looked around. "Davis, where are Ken, T.K. and Cody?"

Davis pointed towards the city. "They are with Gennai inside the city." Suddenly they saw T.K. coming out from the city's entrance. "Speaking of T.C., there he is."

** ***************************

Inside Asuka City, Gennai was taking the three boys around the city for a small tour. Asuka City looked like a small, yet modern, European style city. Not many buildings were built in there, and in the middle of the city there was a river separating Asuka City into two smaller divisions. The three Digidestined noted that the two divisions were seemed to be color-coded; the division where they were in was mostly red. The buildings, the roads, they were all in different shades of red, and brown as well. The division on the other side of the river was green. Lots of trees were planted there, and they saw that the 'green' division had even less buildings.

"That's where we are going," Gennai said and gestured towards a large, white building in the middle of the greenery of the division. The building's design was unique. It looked like a cross between a temple and a laboratory. They also noted that the building seemed to have satellite dishes on it, giving it the look as if it was a laboratory, besides the color white. Otherwise, it looked like an ancient temple. The temple-lab crossover was built on a higher ground, with several steps of stairs built leading to its entrance. Two identical digimons seemed to be guarding each side of the stairs, but they couldn't make out what digimons were there, as they were quite far. Gennai looked at the three boys. "Will one of you go and get the others to join us?"

"I'll go," T.K. offered and immediately took off, Patamon flying as fast as he could to catch up with his partner. About ten minutes later, T.K. returned with Davis, Yolei and Kari, and their partners.

"Where are we going, Gennai? What is that building you showed us?" Ken asked as he looked at the white building.

"That building is the Asuka Laboratory, built on top of the underground ancient Asuka Temple. I have been residing here, doing researches about the digimons and of the Digiworld as well," Gennai answered. 

"It looks awesome," Davis commented. 

"Thank you, it was me who built it," Gennai said nonchalantly and chuckled a little. "With the help of some digimons of course. I couldn't do it alone. Ever since the attack of the Dark Masters at my previous headquarters years ago, I've lost many researches as well as my team-mates," Gennai said thoughtfully and paused for a while. Davis, Ken, Yolei and Cody, while not having any idea what Gennai was talking about, decided to keep silence as they watched Gennai's expression changed into a slightly sorrowful look. Only T.K. and Kari understood that Gennai was referring to the event when the Dark Masters had invaded the laboratory where Gennai and his teammates were residing, and had destroyed it after killing Gennai's friends. Gennai had narrowly escaped with a Mekanorimon, taking the Digivices and the digi-eggs, containing the Baby forms of Patamon, Gatomon and the other six digimons belonged to Tai, Matt, Sora, Izzy, Joe and Mimi. 

"I had help from many digimons to build this laboratory," Gennai continued, gesturing for the Digidestined to start walking with him towards the laboratory. "All the digimons of the File Island helped out. There, I continued my research, using the Digivices as templates for me to study their powers. I also studied the course of digivolution of various digimons of the Digiworld, with help of some of the digimons here as well. A few digimons now resided in the laboratory as well, helping me out."

"Who are the digimons?" T.K. asked.

Gennai smiled. "I believe you already knew of Piximon, right? He is the trainer of digimons for them to digivolve into their next levels. He helped me studying the course of digivolution." 

"Piximon? He's here?" Kari asked happily. The last time she had met Piximon was when he had sacrificed himself to save the Digidestined from the Dark Masters almost four years back, when she had first arrived on the Digiworld.

"Yes, and not only him. Leomon's here too. He helps with the trainings Piximon conducted on the digimons. Ogremon's here as well, saying that he is actually not willing to help and that he's forced by Leomon to help, but otherwise he's been a great help."

"I'm sure Mimi and Joe would be very happy to hear that Leomon's here as well," T.K. commented. Leomon had died while protecting Mimi from MetalEtemon, during the Dark Masters era as well.

"The laboratory, Asuka Lab for short, takes place on the ground level. Beneath it, in the lower ground levels and below, is the original Asuka Temple. The temple's powers keep Asuka Sector safe from any evil forces from trespassing. I think you haven't met the guardians of the temple yet," Gennai said. Suddenly he stopped walking, and the Digidestined saw that they had already arrived at the Asuka Lab. A pair of Knightmons whom were guarding the entrance recognized Gennai and were introduced to the Digidestined, and they let them pass into the laboratory.

Asuka Lab, they saw, was an absolutely huge and well-equipped, high-tech laboratory. Neither Digidestined had ever seen such laboratory back on their world, either in real life or in the television. Computers were practically everywhere around the laboratory's walls, all of them were operated by Piximons. In the middle of the room was a large, circular platform. Faint, silvery, straight lights were coming out from the platform. A particularly larger computer was seen at the farthest end of the laboratory, and there were two seats in front of the computer. One of them was occupied by a Piximon, and this Piximon was slightly different from the others as he was carrying a staff with him. The other seat was vacant, and Gennai led the Digidestined and the digimons towards the computer.

"Here is my computer," Gennai said as soon as they had reached the computer. The Piximon quickly hovered up from the chair he was sitting earlier and moved towards the Digidestined. "I believe you have met this Piximon, T.K., Kari," Gennai gestured towards the Piximon. T.K. and Kari instantly knew that the Piximon they were looking at was the same Piximon that had saved their lives four years back.

"Hello, T.K., Kari," Piximon greeted warmly. "It is a pleasure to meet you two again." He then looked at the other four Digidestined and greeted them in the same manner as well.

T.K. and Kari grinned widely. "The pleasure is ours, Piximon. We didn't get the chance to thank you yet, Piximon, for saving us from Piedmon four years ago," T.K. said, and Kari nodded.

"It was an honor," Piximon simply replied. He then introduced himself to the other four Digidestined. 

After a while, Gennai began explaining his purpose of bringing the Digidestined into Asuka Lab. "A few months ago, after the defeat of MaloMyotismon, Piximon and I have been working on a research on how the digivices worked to supply sufficient powers for digimons to digivolve from their Rookie stage into Champions. We were trying to figure out the reason why the digivices couldn't supply enough powers for digimons to go beyond Champions."

"But I thought Tai and Matt digivolved Agumon and Gabumon using only the digivices?" T.K. asked.

"Yes, but that was due to the influx of powers their digivices were getting from the crests and from the special arrows shot by Angemon and Angewomon last time during the battle with VenomMyotismon on your world. The powers remained inside their digivices ever since."

Piximon cleared his throat before he continued. "So, we began to do a research to find ways to improve the digivices so that they could give enough powers for digimons to digivolve into Ultimates onwards, but unfortunately there was no way to modify the ways of the old digivices were constructed. They were created by the powers of the Digiworld itself, and the reason behind this has still remained a mystery. The new models of the digivices, which I believe you are calling the D3s, were slightly modified by Azulongmon and the other three Harmonious Ones when Ken's digivice mysteriously took a new form when he dipped it into the Dark Ocean. The improvements that the D3s had were that it could comply with Armor-digivolving, and to enable the owners to travel back and forth between the Digiworld and their own world. They were also modified to work in conjunction with the D-Terminals to store the special Digi-Eggs, which enabled Armor-digivolving."

"But when we found Gatomon's Tail Ring, we discovered its holy powers and incorporated it inside the D3s, enabling your Champions to DNA-digivolve together to form Ultimates. Using this method, one of the two digimons act as the main digimons, this means that he would receive powers from the Tail Ring. But the ring's powers alone was not enough, so it used the other digimon as a power source, channeling the digimon's powers into the main digimon, making the main digimon has enough power to reach its natural Ultimate form," Gennai explained. "But when Gatomon took back the Tail Ring, DNA-digivolution process was no longer possible, so we've decided to find a way to make the digivices, or the D3s, to digivolve digimons into levels above Champions independently, without using any extra power source like the Tail Ring, the crests and tags, or another digimon's powers."

"That's great. It may be the answer of our problem right now," Ken said enthusiastically. 

"Unfortunately, it is not that simple," Piximon replied back. "We found out that there is absolutely no way to make a digimon digivolve beyond Champion level without infusing the digimon with enough energy from an external power source, unless the digimons itself gained the necessary power level and experience needed to naturally digivolve into Ultimates."

"And while the current method of digivolving into Ultimates, the DNA-digivolution method, is pretty successful, one downfall of the method is that the number of digimons decreased, compared to the method of using the Crests and Tags which retained the number of digimons," Gennai continued. "We began to search for other methods to make digimons digivolve into Ultimates without decreasing the number, but we just could not find the perfect solution, thus leading us to believe that DNA-digivolution was the only possible method."

"But...?" Yolei asked.

"To answer that, you all need to look at this," Piximon replied, and pressed a few buttons on the keyboard of the computer. The monitor, which was large, around 30" or so, instantly displayed a device which all six Digidestined were unfamiliar of. The device was basically rectangular in shape if it wasn't for the circular shape of one of its end. The circular end bore complex shapes and symbols which the Digidestined recognized as the characters of the Digiworld's alphabets. Four metallic arrows came from the circular end, pointing to four red buttons built on the middle of the device. The other end of the device had a small circular depression on it. Below the device was attached a black leather bracelet, making it looked like it was meant to be worn on the wrist. The device was mostly gray in color, with the exception for the four red buttons. 

"What is it?" T.K. inquired. 

"What you are seeing now is the template of the new device we had developed, which we called the Diginizer. The two of us, with help of the guardians of the temple below, planned to create a set of devices similar to the digivices and the D3s with the ability to enable the partner digimons of the Digidestined to be infused with enough power to make them digivolve beyond the Champion level, should something like this would happen," Gennai explained. "We feared that one day, more powerful enemies would rise to take over the Digiworld and that the powers of the Digivices and the D3s weren't enough, so we developed the Diginizers, but unfortunately they aren't completed yet."

"Do you mean that the six of us will be given the Diginizers, once they are finished?" Davis asked. "That'll be great, now that we've lost the D3s and our digimons can no longer digivolve." 

Gennai smiled and nodded. "Yes, Davis, actually the Diginizers ARE meant for the six of you, although there are actually twelve Diginizers in the making, in conjunction with the number of the sacred elements of the Digiworld. Those elements are those being used to create the Crests."

"Twelve?" Kari asked, her expression puzzled. "But I thought there were only eight Crests, nine including Ken's Crest of Kindness?"

"There are twelve elements exist in the Digiworld. Courage, Friendship, Love, Knowledge, Reliability, Sincerity, Hope, Light and Kindness are the first nine elements which you have encountered before," Gennai answered. "The other three elements are Miracles, Destiny, and Darkness." 

"Darkness?" T.K. asked, feeling uneasy all of a sudden. "Why Darkness?"

"Darkness does not necessarily means evil, T.K.," Piximon answered with a thoughtful tone in his voice. "If utilized correctly, the element of Darkness may prove vital for the side of good. The same situation applies if any of the other elements fell into the wrong hands. It is the matter of the way one use the elements." T.K. nodded slowly, and he noted that Ken's expression slightly changed as well although he was doing his best to cover it.

"I've never heard of the element Destiny before," Kari commented. 

"It exists, but similar to the elements Miracles and Darkness, no crests have been developed based on them yet," Piximon replied.

"So now we are getting the Diginizers, right?" Yolei asked, and was a little surprised when suddenly Gennai grimaced.

"I've said before that the Diginizers are nowhere near completion," Gennai answered slowly. "Although we have developed a device similar to the Digivices and the D3s, we still don't have a clue on how to make it usable for you to make your digimons digivolve into Ultimate. The Diginizers are currently downstairs with the guardians of the temple, as they are currently infusing them with the ancient powers mentioned at Asuka Temple below. I don't know whether they have already finished with them or not."

"Right now, the Diginizers only have the similar functions the other digivices and D3s had," Piximon continued. "Beyond that, we don't know."

"I think that's good enough for now, we still need to battle the Chaos Generals if they ever come back here," Davis said. The others nodded in agreement. "If the Diginizers currently functioning the same way our previous D3s had, then we can still get Imperialdramon, Silphymon and Shakkoumon. We need them to battle Chaos Specter's forces."

Gennai and Piximon looked at each other. "Well, in that case, follow me," Gennai said finally and led them towards the circular platform situated in the middle of the laboratory. "The platform is used to teleport us downstairs, where the temple is. This is as a safety precaution, to avoid any unworthy being to step foot inside the sacred temple." He then instructed the six Digidestined and their partners to step onto the platform while he motioned for Piximon something before he himself joined them on the platform. 

The platform suddenly glowed with bright multi-colored lights which enveloped all of them, and as swift as a blink of the eye, they saw the laboratory surroundings instantly changed into a somewhat dimmer, yet full of radiance environment. "We are now inside the temple, Digidestined." All of them looked around them in awe, and took the time to study the interior of the temple. The temple was as large as the laboratory, but looked ancient. The walls, the floors and the ceilings were all yellow and gold in color, and they emitted some dim glitters, which gave the lights to the temple. Some of the walls bore ancient inscriptions, engraved in the Digiworld's ancient language. There were about four separate entrances on each sides of the wall, and they heard footsteps coming from the entrance nearest to them, and turned their attentions towards it.

Two angel type digimons suddenly appeared from the entrance. One was a male, and was dressed in loose robs completely in white. He had large, white wings on his back, pretty much similar to Angemon's wings. The male angel digimon wore a mask similar to MagnaAngemon's, and also coincidentally, had long, blonde hair similar to the mentioned digimon as well. In fact, his right hand also had the same kind of bracelet MagnaAngemon wore, the bracelet which housed the sword Excalibur, and speaking of a sword, the digimon had a large sword neatly placed on his back. The digimon smiled warmly towards the Digidestined, who were all staring at him in awe, as he truly looked magnificent. 

"Welcome to Asuka Temple, Digidestined," the angel greeted them with a grin, and nodded towards Gennai. "I am MagnaAngemon, in Priest mode. I am the Guardian of this temple and all of its ancient holy powers." He then gestured towards the other angel digimon, who was a female, and smaller than him. The female angel digimon was indeed pretty, and had a beautiful orange complexion. Her hair was also blonde, but was mostly covered by the large red hat and the red shawl she was wearing around her neck. She had two pairs of gold wings, and was dressed pretty much like Angewomon, with a blue piece of cloth covering her legs like Angemon's. She wore a golden, transparent mask covering her eyes, and on her right hand was a small staff. "This is my disciple, D'Archmon." 

D'Archmon smiled towards them and nodded slightly. "I am honored to meet all of you. Gennai have been telling me all about you." Her voice was sweet and melodious, and all four male Digidestined became slightly captivated. D'Archmon obviously noticed it as she herself blushed. MagnaAngemon PM (Priest Mode) chuckled slightly, seeing D'Archmon and the four boys were all blushing. 

"I see that humans too are attracted to D'Archmon as well," he said, his voice had an amused tone on it. "Don't worry," he said after seeing Davis, T.K., Cody and Ken were all flustered. "Even my other two disciples are vying between themselves for her attention." After he finished, two male angels stepped out from the entrance as well. One of them was an Angemon, and the other digimon looked exactly like him, only that instead of having three pairs of wing, the angel had only one pair, and his cloths and sashes were dark pink instead of blue. He also was holding a staff similar to Angemon, the only different was that at the end of his staff there was a golden crescent on it. "Meet Angemon and Piddomon, my other two disciples. D'Archmon, Angemon and Piddomon are all in Champion levels, and they have been helping me in guarding the temple, and developing the Diginizers." The two male angel digimons nodded in respect towards the Digidestined, and blushed after seeing that Yolei and Kari were staring at the two of them.

"Speaking of the Diginizers," Gennai said and paused to clear his throat. "The Digidestined are here to retrieve them, as their digivices were destroyed by Chaos Specter's henchmen." He then proceeded into telling MagnaAngemon PM and his three disciples of what had happened earlier. 

MagnaAngemon PM nodded grimly. "Then I guess it is time. I have infused the Diginizers with the ancient powers of this temple earlier, but hear me this, children," he said. "There is no way of knowing how the Diginizers will work with you and your partner digimons, as we ourselves have not the time to test them out yet. You can use them to do what you have done earlier with your digivices, but beyond that we will have to wait and see for ourselves. But promise me one thing, children, that should anything wrong happened with the Diginizers, you are to discard them immediately."

The Digidestined thought for a while. "Okay," Davis said, and the others nodded.

MagnaAngemon PM looked at his disciples. "Bring me the Diginizers." Piddomon nodded and walked away back into the entrance which he and Angemon had come from earlier. After a couple of minutes, he reappeared with him was a medium-sized chest which he held with both hands. Piddomon then placed the chest in front of MagnaAngemon PM, and opened the chest before turning the chest facing the six Digidestined.

Inside the chest were twelve identical devices they had seen earlier on Gennai's computers. MagnaAngemon PM then instructed each Digidestined to take one Diginizer from the chest. Davis decided to take the first Diginizer, and took a while to look at all twelve. 

"Which one should I choose?" Davis asked.

"I don't know, Davis," MagnaAngemon PM replied. Davis then selected one of the Diginizer, and as soon as Davis took out the Diginizer from the chest, the device glowed brightly, emitting deep blue lights around the temple. After the blue lights died away, Davis saw that the Diginizer he had taken had changed color from gray into blue, except for the four metallic arrows, which became silver. The depression on the other side of the Diginizer let out a ray of gold light which surrounded Davis for a while until it returned back to the depression, and formed a symbol of a sun, made out of gold. The symbol covered the depression, and Davis was shocked when he realized what the symbol was.

"It's the symbol of Courage," he breathed out excitedly, and touched the golden symbol of Courage with his fingers. The symbol glowed slightly as Davis ran his fingers on it.

"That means you have been selected by the ancient powers of the temple to become the Digidestined of Courage," MagnaAngemon PM replied. He then beckoned for the others to do the same thing. Ken went next, and his Diginizer changed into the color black, and the symbol of Kindness was engraved on his Diginizer. Yolei's Diginizer took the color red, and bore the symbol of Love. Cody's was yellow, bestowed with the symbol of Knowledge. T.K.'s Diginizer was green in color, and had the symbol of Hope, while Kari's was pink with the symbol of Light. 

"The Digidestined are back in business!"

* * *

** to be continued...**


	4. Save Our City

**DISCLAIMER: ** I do not own Digimons. So far, I own only Chaos Specter. This is the third chapter. The Vengeance series are in continuation with the Digimon anime, and the movie too, minus the third part onwards (Golden Digi-Eggs) and contain some references to the game _Digimon World 3 _(the name of the cities, trainings in Leomon's gym, and possibly the digimons in it later). Last but not least, I would like to thank **im' dum ** and ** RB3** for their reviews (^_^).

** ***************************

** VENGEANCE   
- Chapter 03 - Save Our City -**

** by **

** Alforce Zero**

Chaos Specter was pleased. Not only did his Chaos Generals managed to defeat the Digidestined easily, they even had stripped the Digidestined off their powers by destroying the digivices. Despite ChaosPiedmon's continuous complaints of ChaosWarGreymon's decision of letting go of the two Digidestined and their partners from being destroyed, Chaos Specter did not really seem to mind. After all, what could the powerless Digidestined do to stop him now that they no longer could make their partner digimons digivolve?

"Now is the perfect time to execute my next plan," he thought silently, while sitting on his throne. He was facing the four captive Harmonious Ones, and they all were quiet ever since they had witnessed the battle between the Digidestined and the Chaos Generals. Seeing that he couldn't get any of them talking, Chaos Specter turned the throne back to face the huge viewing screen in front of him. The screen flickered, and two identical digimons were shown, both were mechanical dragons digimon, one was brown with blue wings, and the other was all gray. "Megadramon and Gigadramon, I want you to attack Asuka sector and destroy it." 

"Yes, master Chaos Specter," replied the two digimons simultaneously. 

Chaos Specter smiled to himself. "It's no big deal if ChaosWarGreymon didn't want to destroy the Digidestined, I can simply send another digimon to finish the job." He then leaned back against the throne and looked down towards ChaosPiedmon and ChaosSeadramon. 

"Why didn't you send us to do that, master?" ChaosPiedmon asked politely. "We could get the job done much more easily than those two Ultimates."

"I have another task for the two of you."

"What about ChaosWarGreymon?" ChaosSeadramon inquired. 

"He has left the fortress earlier. I don't know where he had gone to."

"What do you have in mind for us to do, master?" 

"Find ChaosWarGreymon, and tell me what he is up to."

** ***************************

Meanwhile, ChaosWarGreymon was flying alone without a destination set in mind. He needed fresh air to clear his mind. His most recent battle with the Digidestined's Imperialdramon FM had drained some of his powers, although he won't admit that to his fellow team-mates. But that was not what he was thinking, or what was making him confused. It was that girl, Kari. 

'Why didn't I just finish the job and destroy her? Why had I hesitated?' he thought for himself. He began to think about Kari. There was something very familiar about her, but he didn't know exactly what. Her name and her ruby eyes were the only thing that he could have think of. ChaosWarGreymon's mind became blurred when he forced his mind to think of any connection he had with the child of Light. Searching for a starting point to start thinking, ChaosWarGreymon began to think of his past. Flashback

Although it was pretty much blurry, ChaosWarGreymon remembered the time when Chaos Specter had recruited him to become one of his three Chaos Generals. He was still a Koromon, but he didn't stay at the Koromon Village like the other Koromons. Instead, he opted to have an adventure of his own, as he wanted to make himself stronger and digivolve into a more powerful state. When he became Chaos Specter's henchman, he met his fellow teammates, Betamon and DemiDevimon. His two teammates were already Rookies while he was only an In-training digimon. That pushed him to train very hard, and he managed to digivolve into Agumon one day. 

While already a Rookie, he still lacked experience compared to Betamon and DemiDevimon, so he decided to go for numerous battles in behalf of Chaos Specter rather than going for training. Chaos Specter then was attacking other alternate dimensions of the Digiworld in search for the Harmonious Ones, and often sent out various digimons to battle the digimons defending the dimensions. 

From the battles, his experience and powers soon surpassed that of his teammates when one day, he digivolved into his Champion stage, Greymon. Chaos Specter was pleased with his achievements and granted him the place as the first Chaos General. After some time, his two teammates soon digivolved into Seadramon and Devidramon as well, and were granted the same powers by Chaos Specter. From then onwards, Chaos Specter trained them personally and sent them out to various important battle. Later, they became Ultimates - MetalGreymon, MegaSeadramon and SkullSatamon. About few months after that, a battle was engaged between the Chaos Generals and various digimons from an alternate dimension, and during that battle they all digivolved into Mega - WarGreymon, MetalSeadramon and Piedmon. It was then when Chaos Specter gave them the powers from his own, and turned them into ChaosWarGreymon, ChaosSeadramon and ChaosPiedmon. End Flashback

"Who is this Kari?" ChaosWarGreymon said out loud, still trying to search for any clue that might contain a link between him and Kari. All he remembered was her name, and her ruby eyes, which obviously weren't helping. This led him to frustration, and after seeing that he was alone hovering in the middle of an ocean, ChaosWarGreymon vent out his frustration by launching a Terra Force towards it, sending huge splashes of water in every direction. Some of the marine digimons residing within the oceans like Divermons and Dolphmons were sent flying by the astounding force of ChaosWarGreymon's attack. 

"That's not the right way to vent out your anger!" a voice called out from behind of him. ChaosWarGreymon didn't even bother to look, as he knew quite well who the owner of the voice was. "Especially if you vent it towards the oceans." He glanced at ChaosSeadramon, who was hovering behind him, accompanied by ChaosPiedmon. 

"Frustrated, are you?" ChaosPiedmon interjected with a sly grin plastered on his face. "Do you know that I so happen to have saved your back in front of the master just now by not telling him that you've gone soft for a GIRL?" 

"That's ridiculous!" ChaosWarGreymon exclaimed. "I'm not going soft for that girl. It was because you've made a pact with the kids, and they had done their part." He was fuming with anger.

"So? Since when you've cared for that? As I remember, you were the merciless one while you were growing last time? So desperate to attract the master's attention, wanting so badly to digivolve to outdo the two of us, and all other stuffs which I KNOW that you remembered so well," ChaosPiedmon pointed out with a cold tone in his voice. "Why now? Why, of all this time, now would be the time for you to have a conscience?" 

ChaosWarGreymon glared towards the clown digimon. "Mind your own business, ChaosPiedmon!" He immediately blasted away from the scene, leaving the other two Chaos Generals. 

"That confirms it," ChaosPiedmon said coolly. "He did have a soft-spot for that girl. We can use this to our advantage."

"What do you have in mind?" ChaosSeadramon asked his accomplice. 

"You'll see."

** ***************************

Meanwhile, back at Asuka City, the Digidestined spent the rest of the day speculating of what the Diginizers could do. Gennai recommended for their digimons to go for the trainings conducted at Leomon's gym, which was located inside Asuka Lab as well, but on the first floor. The Digidestined actually didn't realize that the lab had actually two floors as it looked like it only had one floor, minus the temple underground. 

"What are the trainings are for?" Davis inquired. "Can I go too?"

"I'm afraid that the trainings are specifically designed for digimons only," Gennai answered with a smile. "Sorry about that, and as for the trainings, they are made to increase the level of a digimon's strength, speed, spirit, tolerance and intelligence. With enough training, the digimons could increase their experience level so that later they could easily digivolve into a higher level than Champion."

"Yeah, I remembered Gatomon telling me a while ago that the gym's trainings is pretty much the same with the trainings she had received from Myotismon when she was his henchman four years ago," Kari commented. All six digimons had already gone inside the gym, and were currently training with Leomon while the Digidestined took a tour around the laboratory. Gatomon, being already a Champion level digimon, already received enough training in all five basic aspects and her experience level was way higher than the others. Patamon came as second, although his experience was a lot less than Gatomon. He needed to be trained in strength and speed, but his intelligence, tolerance and spirit levels were good enough. Veemon was being trained in spirit and intelligence, Hawkmon in speed and spirit, Armadillomon in speed and intelligence while Wormmon in strength and tolerance. Gatomon helped Leomon out conducting the trainings for the digimons, as Ogremon had returned to File Island for a while.

"You mean she's been trained by that horrible vampire digimon? No wonder she's already a Champion!" Yolei exclaimed. "The trainings must have been really hard for her."

Kari nodded. "I agree. Do you know that she was beaten and whipped so many times while she was a Rookie, only because Myotismon didn't like her eyes? When she digivolved into Champion, Myotismon stopped beating her up, and trained her well to become his army's lieutenant. The Tail Ring she wore increased her power level slowly while training."

"Did Myotismon give her the Tail Ring?" Cody asked.

"No," Kari answered. "The Tail Ring came with her when she digivolved from Salamon. It was that Tail Ring that helped increase her power level and experience. That's why when she lost the ring, her powers were reduced to an almost the same level with a Rookie digimon."

Meanwhile, in Leomon's gym, all six digimons were having a great time sparring with Leomon. Their previous trainings, which challenges their strength, speed, spirit, tolerance and intelligence were tiring, according to the digimons. Sparring instead was fun. Leomon had given them a few tips on fighting skills, and they were currently practicing that on Leomon. Gatomon offered to help Leomon with the sparring.

"Bring it on!" she said, and braced herself. Hawkmon and Veemon were aiming for her.

"You're ready Gatomon?" Veemon said and ran towards her, aiming his head to hit her. "VEE HEAD BUTT!!" Gatomon evaded the attack easily and prepared herself to face Hawkmon.

"FEATHER STRIKE!!" Hawkmon sent out the feather from the back of his head towards Gatomon, whom had jumped out of feather's way easily. 

"My turn," Gatomon grinned slyly and immobilized both digimons quickly with her Cat's Eye Hypnotism, but as she didn't assert enough energy on the attack, after a minute both Veemon and Hawkmon regained their mobility.

On the other side of the gym, Patamon, Wormmon and Armadillomon teamed up together to spar with Leomon. 

"STICKY NET!!"

"DIAMOND SHELL!!"

Both Wormmon and Armadillomon's attacks hit Leomon, but the tall, Champion digimon didn't even sway. 

"BOOM BUBBLE!!"

The attack hit Leomon directly on his face, and he staggered a bit, which caused Patamon to squeal in delight. 

"Very good, all three of you," Leomon complemented, and glanced towards Gatomon, Hawkmon and Veemon. "You've all improved."

** ***************************

Meanwhile, outside Asuka Sector, Megadramon and Gigadramon were hovering in the sky while observing the sector. They were commanded by Chaos Specter to attack Asuka City and destroy it, and currently they were planning the best moves to attack the city. Below them were five Champion digimons they had brought to help. Two of the digimons were DarkTyrannomons, another two were Deltamons, and the remaining Champion was a Devidramon. All of them were standing just outside the Asuka Sector, awaiting the commands of the two Ultimate-level dragon digimons.

"So what's the plan?" Gigadramon asked his partner, Megadramon.

"I don't know really, but it should be a piece of cake. Since the Digidestined have lost their digivices, we don't have anything against us," Megadramon replied smugly. "We should be able to destroy the city within half-an-hour or less, with those digimons we've brought along."

"Let's go, then."

"Right." Megadramon and Gigadramon led their troop to enter Asuka Sector.

At Asuka Laboratory, the alarm was activated, alerting everyone from the underground temple, the laboratory, and the gym above. One of the larger viewing screens inside the laboratory showed the invasion of the evil digimons inside the sector. 

"What are those digimons doing here?" Gennai wondered out loud. "They can't be allowed to reach the city!" Megadramon, Gigadramon and the five digimons they had brought with them were at the garden outside the city, and they began to head towards the city. Megadramon and Gigadramon had the advantages since both could fly.

Davis looked at his five friends, and their digimons. "Looks like it's time to test out the Diginizers. What do you say, guys?" All of them shouted their agreements, and headed outside the laboratory. They were followed by Gennai, Leomon, Piximon, MagnaAngemon PM, D'Archmon, Angemon and Piddomon, who all vowed to stop the evil digimons from invading Asuka City. MagnaAngemon PM stretched out both of his hands towards both sides, and they all found themselves suddenly enveloped in bright silvery lights. Their surroundings became all silver in color, and a fraction of a second later, they all were already outside Asuka City. 

"Now is the time to utilize the power of the Diginizers, children. Good luck!" MagnaAngemon PM said and he took-off in mid-air to battle Megadramon and Gigadramon. His three disciples attempted to follow their master, but MagnaAngemon PM stopped them beforehand, and ordered them to stop the Deltamons, DarkTyrannomons and the Devidramon from invading and causing destruction on the city. Piximon instead followed MagnaAngemon PM to help him battle the two dragons.

_[The theme "Brave Heart" played in the background]_

Davis and the others saw that the symbols denoting the virtues on the Diginizers glowing. "DIGINIZER ENERGIZE!!" 

"VEEMON DIGIVOLVE TO... EXVEEMON!!"

"WORMMON DIGIVOLVE TO... STINGMON!!"

"HAWKMON DIGIVOLVE TO... AQUILAMON!!"

"ARMADILLOMON DIGIVOLVE TO... ANKYLOMON!!"

"PATAMON DIGIVOLVE TO... ANGEMON!!"

The three disciples of MagnaAngemon PM, along with Leomon, Gatomon, and the five newly-digivolved Champion digimons charged towards the DarkTyrannomons, the Deltamons and the Devidramon. The three angels of Asuka Temple all joined forces to combat the Devidramon, who was evidently the strongest among the five. Leomon and Stingmon battled one of the Deltamons while Angemon and Gatomon took on the other. ExVeemon, Aquilamon and Ankylomon battled the two DarkTyrannomons together. On the sky, a battle took place between MagnaAngemon PM and Piximon with Megadramon and Gigadramon. 

"HAND OF FATE!!"

"FIRE FEATHERS!!"

Angemon and Piddomon, the two male disciples of MagnaAngemon PM, combined their powers to attack Devidramon, who was targeting D'Archmon. However, the female angel was doing just fine, shielding herself from Devidramon's Crimson Claw attacks with her defensive technique called the Battlement Armor. She then flew above Devidramon and attacked with her staff. 

Meanwhile, Leomon and Stingmon were having a pretty tough time trying to beat Deltamon. Angemon and Gatomon weren't having much luck as well. The two Deltamons overpowered the four of them in terms of strength.

"FIST OF THE BEAST KING!!"

"SPIKING STRIKE!!"

"LIGHTNING CLAW!!"

"HAND OF FATE!!"

The four good digimons then decided that if they couldn't win the fight by dividing themselves into two groups to fight the Deltamons, the only way out was to cripple the strength of the Deltamons by taking down one of them together before moving on towards the other one. Thus they delivered their best attacks on one of the Deltamon, who was hit point-blank and was deleted completely. The other Deltamon, on the other hand, was extremely pissed by the deletion of his partner.

"TRIPLEX FORCES!!" He growled loudly, sending out three beams of energy blasts from his three faces, hitting Leomon, Stingmon and Angemon directly, sending them flying away. The Deltamon then marched towards Gatomon, planning to finish off the kitty with one blow, when suddenly he was attacked from behind. Deltamon looked around angrily and saw Piddomon, one of the angels, was the one who had attacked him. Angemon and D'Archmon soon appeared before him as well, and Deltamon realized that Devidramon was deleted as well. 

Seeing that he was then battling six Champion digimons, Deltamon knew that he would be defeated sooner or later, and decided to focus his attacks on the three angels since Leomon and the three destined digimons were still lying on the grounds. He summoned another Triplex Forces attack which was easily countered by Angemon by twirling his staff, Piddomon by firing his Fire Feathers, and by D'Archmon with her Battlement Armor. From Deltamon's behind, Leomon and the three destined digimons rose from the grounds.

"All together now, let's beat this Deltamon!" Leomon yelled loudly. "Attack the heads! FIST OF THE BEAST KING!!"

T.K.'s Angemon flew towards the Angemon of Asuka Temple. "DOUBLE HANDS OF FATE!!" They cried together and launched two Hand-of-Fate attacks which combined into one large and powerful fireball, heading towards Deltamon's main head in the middle. Combined with Leomon's Fist-of-the-Beast-King, the forces delivered were powerful to counter and the head disintegrated. Stingmon and Gatomon then attacked with their signature attacks, and joined by Piddomon and D'Archmon. Deltamon's remaining two heads on its hands emitted a loud scream before it exploded to thousands of data particles.

In the mean time, ExVeemon, Aquilamon and Ankylomon were pretty much successful themselves in battling the two DarkTyrannomons. One of the DarkTyrannomons was already deleted, and the three of them were advancing on the remaining DarkTyrannomon, who was frozen with fear. Seizing the chance, the three destined digimons attacked with full force.

"VEE LASER!!"

"TAIL HAMMER!!"

"BLAST RINGS!!"

DarkTyrannomon was deleted after being blasted with the three attacks. The digimons regrouped as they watched the battle occurring on the sky above Asuka sector. MagnaAngemon PM was battling Gigadramon, and Piximon fought Megadramon. 

"It looks like they need our help!" Leomon exclaimed. "But it looks like I, Gatomon and Ankylomon are not able to do that since the three of us can't fly!"

"Leave it to us!" ExVeemon said and flew above the sky, followed by Stingmon, Aquilamon, Angemon and the three disciples.

MagnaAngemon PM was getting tired. While as an Ultimate-level angel digimon, he was supposed to be one of the toughest Ultimate digimon around but all those years guarding Asuka Temple made him lack of experience, compared to the Gigadramon, whom he noticed, was much more experienced. He wondered whether the Gigadramon and the Megadramon were the ones that worked under the Dark Master Machinedramon four years ago. He didn't have time to figure out the answer though, as Gigadramon launched his deadly Gigabyte Wing attack at him again, and MagnaAngemon PM was forced to evade the attack again.

"EXCALIBUR!!" MagnaAngemon PM transferred his energy towards his sword Excalibur. The sword shimmered and emitted sparks of electricity around it. He then slashed the sword in mid-air, and a V-shaped wave of brilliant white sparks of lightning was launched towards Gigadramon, whom had easily evaded the attack. 

Piximon was in a worse condition than MagnaAngemon PM was, as Megadramon was far more powerful than him. He survived the fight so far by evading all of Megadramon's attacks, but he knew that he would not last long if he continued to battle in that state. 

"DARK SIDE ATTACK!!"

"GIGABYTE WING!!"

The two attacks launched together by Megadramon and Gigadramon suddenly went past Piximon and MagnaAngemon PM, and the two of them were bewildered to see that the attack had missed when the two of them didn't even evade the attacks. They got the answers quickly enough when the two attacks hit six figures who were flying towards them, and caused an explosion. Soon after the explosion subsided, they saw the three disciples of MagnaAngemon PM and four of the Digidestined's digimons fell back to the grounds.

"What now?" MagnaAngemon PM thought to himself grimly as he braced himself for another battle with Gigadramon. Piximon, he saw, was blasted away by Megadramon towards the grounds as well.

On the grounds, Kari was thinking the same thing. She then looked at Gatomon, who was watching her fellow digimons fell from the sky. 

"Gatomon... look," she said softly, but clear enough for Gatomon to hear. Gatomon turned her head towards her human partner, and gasped as she saw Kari's Diginizer of Light was glowing. The pink lights emitted from the Diginizer were blinding, and all Digidestined, Leomon and Ankylomon had to cover their eyes. 

Kari felt a strange sensation from within her body. The pink lights were enveloping her body, and she felt stronger as every second passed. Suddenly she heard a heart-beat, which she was sure was not her own. The heart-beat she was hearing began to synchronize itself with her own, and Kari finally realized she was hearing Gatomon's heart-beat. 

Gatomon felt the same way as well, realizing that she was hearing Kari's heart and her own beating together. She began to pick up Kari's thought.

'Gatomon, what's going on?'

'I don't know, Kari. This is very strange.'

'It's the Diginizer of Light.'

An image of the symbol depicting the virtue of Light appeared all of a sudden in front of them, and both Kari and Gatomon were lifted on air by an unseen force.

* * *

**to be continued...**


	5. Angewomon Unchained

**DISCLAIMER: ** I do not own Digimons. So far, I own only Chaos Specter. This is the fourth chapter. The Vengeance series are in continuation with the Digimon anime, and the movie too, minus the third part onwards (Golden Digi-Eggs) and contain some references to the game _Digimon World 3 _(the name of the cities, trainings in Leomon's gym, and possibly the digimons in it later). This chapter is rather short compared to the other chapters, but future chapters will be longer than this one. (^_^) Enjoy!

NOTE: In the anime, the attack performed by Angewomon when she collected the powers from the other digimons was called Heaven's Charms instead of Halo of Light (Digimon Adventures - "Wizardmon's Gift"). The attack name is created by me, as Heaven's Charms is also the name of the attack Angewomon used to obliterate LadyDevimon (Digimon Adventures - "Joe's Battle") and Airdramon (Digimon 02 - "His Master's Voice").

** ***************************

** VENGEANCE   
- Chapter 04 - Angewomon Unchained -**

** by **

** Alforce Zero**

Kari felt a strange sensation from within her body. The pink lights were enveloping her body, and she felt stronger as every second passed. Suddenly she heard a heart-beat, which she was sure was not her own. The heart-beat she was hearing began to synchronize itself with her own, and Kari finally realized she was hearing Gatomon's heart-beat. 

Gatomon felt the same way as well, realizing that she was hearing Kari's heart and her own beating together. She began to pick up Kari's thought.

_'Gatomon, what's going on?'_

_'I don't know, Kari. This is very strange.'_

_'It's the Diginizer of Light.'_

**_[The theme "Evo" from Digimon Tamers plays in the background]_**

An image of the symbol depicting the virtue of Light appeared all of a sudden in front of them, and both Kari and Gatomon were lifted on air by an unseen force. The other Digidestined looked in awe as the sky darkened, the only source of light being the shining virtue of Light, which then let out rays of pink lights to envelop both Kari and Gatomon. An image of Kari, standing back-to-back with Gatomon appeared briefly on the dark sky, before disappearing into the swirls of lights that sore towards the sky.

"DIGINIZER OF LIGHT ACTIVATE! DIGIVOLVE TO... ANGEWOMON!!"

Two jets of white lights shot down from the sky, with one of them aimed towards Kari, and the other towards Gatomon. The Digidestined and the digimon began to move towards each other slowly until their forms glowed and became two shining pink silhouettes. Both of them began to merge together and formed a ball of glimmering silver-pink light. A new figure of a tall, slim and slender woman then emerged from the lights. Long, flowing hair appeared from the top of the glowing woman's head. A long pink ribbon materialized from the lights and enveloped itself around the woman's hands as four pairs of wings sprouted from her back. Two white but not identical boots formed from the lights and attached themselves on the woman's legs while clothes made of smooth, white leather formed from beneath the legs and moved upwards as it covered the woman's body. Two bikini-shaped breastplates made out of gold covered the woman's chest, and a helmet with small miniature of wings on both sides covered her face. The evolution sequence was very much familiar to the other Digidestined, and they instantly recognized the woman after the digivolution sequence ended, and Angewomon, the Ultimate form of Gatomon, appeared before them. Rainbows of lights radiated around her as she looked around impressively.

"This is way too cool!" Yolei exclaimed with an amazed tone in her voice. "Kari and Gatomon had...had... FUSED together to become Angewomon! Incredible!" Angewomon's lips curled into a slight smile after hearing her comment, and she nodded in acknowledgement.

"Thanks, Yolei," she replied, and Yolei and the other Digidestined were taken aback when they heard the voice coming out from Angewomon. They could instantly recognize the voice as Kari's, but there was something different about the voice. It sounded more mature, but it definitely was not Angewomon's voice. They finally concluded that it had to be Kari's voice blended with Angewomon's natural voice. 

Angewomon looked above her and saw Megadramon, Gigadramon and MagnaAngemon PM all had stopped fighting and were looking down towards her. _'What should I do now?'_ She thought silently.

_'Don't worry, just do what you thought is right. Remember the battle with Myotismon? Form the Halo of Light to collect the powers from the other digimons and channel them to the Celestial Arrow so that you can eliminate both of them with one shot," _Gatomon's voice suddenly came in her mind, answering her questions and gently guiding her of what she should do. Angewomon nodded as she heard Gatomon again. _'If it's not enough, there's always the Heaven's Charms,'_ Gatomon added nonchalantly, and Angewomon smiled. "Thanks, Gatomon." Angewomon then spread her wings and took off to the air to join MagnaAngemon PM.

She spread her hands to both sides, summoned the Halo of Light before moving her hands upwards. A small halo generated from her hands and moved up towards the sky, growing larger by each seconds. The Halo of Light emitted rainbows of lights everywhere and instantly immobilized both Megadramon and Gigadramon. The two dragons were flustered, and instantly knew what were coming for them. Both roared loudly and wriggled desperately as an attempt to escape, but the halo's power was too strong.

From down, the other Digidestined and digimons were looking up in awe. T.K. recognized what Angewomon was doing immediately. "Everyone, use your best attacks and send them towards Angewomon's Halo of Light now! That'll give her enough power to destroy those dragons in one blow!"

Angemon was the first to respond. "HAND OF FATE!!"

ExVeemon: "VEE LASER!!"

Aquilamon: "BLAST RINGS!!"

Leomon: "FIST OF THE BEAST KING!!"

D'Archmon: "BATTLEMENT D'ARMOR!!"

Piddomon: "FIRE FEATHERS!!"

Angemon: "HAND OF FATE!!"

Piximon: "MAGICAL TAIL!!"

Ankylomon stomped his tail towards the grounds. "TAIL HAMMER!!" The force from the tail emitted sparks of energy balls hurled towards the Halo of Lights.

"SPIKING STRIKE!!" Stingmon slashed the air and sent the force of the attack towards the halo.

All attacks entered the Halo of Lights and the halo changed into a massive emerald energy ball. As Angewomon lifted her hands to call out her finishing attack, MagnaAngemon PM stepped in. "I haven't donate my powers yet." He then lifted his sword Excalibur and formed a circular outline of gold energy which then turned into a Gate of Destiny. The gate then opened and let out a ray of violet light towards the energy ball, and the energy ball instantly turned into gold.

"CELESTIAL ARROW!!" Angewomon summoned, and lifted her right hand towards the gold energy ball as a bow began to form from the sashes of her long, white glove on her left hand. She moved to a position where Megadramon and Gigadramon were in a straight line position to finish them off with one shot. Thunders shot out from the energy ball onto Angewomon's lifted hand and a silver arrow was formed. She then placed the arrow in the position on the bow. Angewomon then pulled the arrow a little, aiming it towards Megadramon's heart, before launching it with full force. The arrow sped towards Megadramon and sliced through its heart, before going through Gigadramon as well. Both digimons were instantly deleted with a huge explosion of data particles.

"She did it!!" Davis declared happily as Angewomon descended down towards them and de-digivolved back into Kari and Gatomon. Everyone rejoiced for their victory, and all of them realized the real powers within the Diginizers. They excitedly speculate about who was going to be the next one to digivolve, and the forms they would be taking after digivolving. All of them cheered Kari and Gatomon for saving the day, but they pointed out that it was a team's work. No one could disagree about that fact.

Gennai was pleased as well after seeing the real power of the Diginizer, but then remembered something very important that had to be done. "Digidestined," he said slowly, and cleared his throat to attract their attention. "I have a task for you, and it's really important." He then proceeded to explain the task to the Digidestined.

** ***************************

Chaos Specter had been watching the whole scene back at his flying fortress, and was pretty much impressed himself after seeing Kari and Gatomon digivolved together to become Angewomon. The three Chaos Generals were watching the battle as well, and were slightly surprised that their master was not angry, after all Angewomon did obliterate two of his minions with one shot of her arrow. 

"A new mode of digivolution," he murmured softly, and scowled. "I have to say that Gennai had done a pretty good work. It must be from the ancient powers of the temple of Asuka." He then turned his throne again towards the imprisoned Harmonious Ones, and looked towards Azulongmon. "Tell me of this new power of theirs!" 

Azulongmon stared back defiantly into the emerald eyes of Chaos Specter. "Why ask question to which you already knew the answer?" he asked back with a sarcastic tone in his voice. "You've said it already just now. It IS the power from Asuka Temple. It is an ancient power of digivolution, created by our ancestors."

Chaos Specter turned back to face the wide viewing screen. "No matter. I don't intend of this power anyway. What I want is the power the prophecy has dictated. The power of time," he said and watched the screen unraveled the prophecy. Chaos Specter must had read the prophecy for quite a number of times already, but he read it again anyway. The screen then shifted back to reveal the mountain regions of the Digiworld. 

"What's our position?" he asked. 

_"We are now at the Central region of the Digiworld."_ The fortress's computer answered. The computer's voice was feminine and robotic, and it echoed throughout the whole throne room.

"Set our course back to the East region of the Digiworld," he commanded.

_"Acknowledged." _The computer responded to Chaos Specter's orders and a world map of the Digiworld was shown. At the central part of the map was a black star marked on it, which denoted the flying fortress. Chaos Specter's attention was immediately caught by a red, circular mark moving from the East sector to the North sector. The red circular mark was moving with top speed as it seemed to reach the North sector within only a minute.

"What is that?" Chaos Specter asked out loud, and the computer responded by displaying what looked like the sky of the Digiworld. Nothing except clouds was seen. Suddenly he caught something moving with an absolutely great speed appeared on the screen, and disappeared again. "Play the screen again in slow mode." The computer proceeded by replaying back the scene it had shown before, and when Chaos Specter caught the moving thing again, he instantly commanded, "Pause!" 

"That can't be! I've just destroyed the children's digivices with my own hands earlier this day, and now they regained back their powers!" ChaosPiedmon protested as soon as he saw what the screen was showing. ChaosWarGreymon smirked, seeing his accomplice in such a confused state. He then stalked off silently out from the throne room.

Chaos Specter stared at the screen again. "Imperialdramon," he muttered as he watched the image of a gigantic, fully-armored-in-black blue dragon with large, red wings. "I wonder what the kids are up to this time."

** ***************************

"That's the last one!" Davis declared after closing a digiport at the South region, somewhere near the Suzaku sector. Earlier that day, after Angewomon's victory over Megadramon and Gigadramon, Gennai had assigned them to close all the digiports around the Digiworld to prevent wild digimons to venture into Earth accidentally, like what had happened six months back. As their new Diginizers had the powers of the D3s, they could close all the digiports without any problem. Davis and Ken used their Diginizers to DNA-digivolve ExVeemon and Stingmon into Paildramon, and then mega-digivolved him into Imperialdramon.

Gennai told them that there were six digiports opened by Chaos Specter earlier, although his reason of doing so remained unknown. One thing that was clear though, that he did not attempt to attack Earth using the digimons. Since Imperialdramon flew with an unbelievably fast speed, they were able to accomplish their task within only three hours, but as it had been a long day for them, the Digidestined longed to return to their world to have a well-deserved rest. Using the Diginizers, the Digidestined and the digimons returned to Earth.

** ***************************

Chaos Specter watched as the Digidestined opened a digiport, which took form as an oval, glowing golden gateway of lights. All the Digidestined and the digimons walked into the gate and after Davis, who was the last to enter, had walked into the gateway, it began to close until finally it disappeared into thin air.

"So, they've gone back to their home world," he muttered. "Big mistake."

* * *

**to be continued...**


	6. Unexpected Encounters

**DISCLAIMER: ** I do not own Digimons. So far, I own only Chaos Specter, Chaos-AI and the Velvet Claw. 

*************************

** VENGEANCE   
- Chapter 05 - Unexpected Encounters -**

** by **

** Alforce Zero**

"So it's a new method of digivolution," Tai commented after hearing Kari's story. She had related everything that had happened in the Digiworld, and excitedly described in detail about her experiences of digivolving together with Gatomon to become Angewomon. Tai listened and was slightly amused to see his younger sister's excitement, but he himself couldn't conceal his awe of hearing that she and Gatomon had fused together to become Angewomon.

"It's amazing, really," Gatomon chimed. "I never thought that the fusion between a human and a digimon was even possible."

Kari nodded. "Me too. It's unbelievable..." she said dreamily. "Me, an angel of light." The three of them laughed together.

"Could it be an alternate form of DNA-digivolution?" Tai asked. Both Kari and Gatomon shrugged and shook their heads. "Maybe I should ask Izzy about that later. Boy, will he be excited!" Tai then scratched his head for a while. "The only thing that is bothering me now..." he said with a note of concern in his voice."...is about that ChaosWarGreymon. What could possibly be the reason of his reluctance to finish you off, when he got the chance?" 

Kari shook her head. "I don't know, Tai, but I'm sure am glad about that. I wish I could meet him to ask him directly the reason." She looked down and traced her fingers around the virtue of Light symbol on her Diginizer. 

"Just be careful, okay?" Tai asked her, and Kari slowly nodded. He then got up from the chair where he was sitting and headed straight towards the door. He stopped suddenly before opening the door, and looked back at Kari. 

"I was just wondering, when you were Angewomon, how did you see through the helmet?" he asked. "Didn't the helmet block your vision?"

"Oh, that," Kari replied and pondered for a while for the right answer. "I could see everything clearly, as if the helmet wasn't even there. The only difference it made was when I was about to shoot the Celestial Arrow towards Megadramon. It helped me to aim the arrow towards Megadramon's heart by using some kind of a computer simulation. The simulation showed me the best position for me to position the bow and arrow before shooting it so that it would hit the target."

"Cool," Tai commented. "Well, I'm going to take a quick shower before dinner."

"How's the soccer game turned out?" Kari inquired. 

"As usual," Tai answered, and grinned. "Nobody beats me in this game... we've won by five points. We scored seven goals today; Orange Star Junior High only had two goals." There was a soccer tournament between Odaiba Junior High and other junior high-schools around them. Orange Star Junior High was located just outside the region of Odaiba. 

"That's good to hear. Well, see ya during dinner," Kari waved as Tai exited from her room. She barely heard Tai said 'Later,' before he closed the door. Kari then looked at Gatomon, and saw that the little white cat was stretching herself on her bed. Gatomon told her that she would take a nap for a while, as she was quite tired. Kari then decided to help her mother preparing dinner while waiting for Tai taking his shower. She placed her Diginizer of Light inside the top drawer of her desk before strolling out from the room towards the kitchen.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Later that night...

Kari was awakened from her sleep by a strange sound which she had not heard before. She opened her eyes slowly, and saw that Gatomon was already up, and she was looking towards the table with a look of suspicion on her face. Kari then looked around to find out where the source of the strange sound. She got up from her bed groggily and went to the light switch to turn on the lights. She walked blindly and accidentally hit the chair of her desk. 

"Ouch!" she yelped, struggling to keep her voice down. If her parents or Tai had heard her, they would have thought that she was having a really bad nightmare, and would rush to her room instantly to see that she was okay. Gatomon jumped down from the bed, thinking that something was wrong. Kari placed her index finger in front of her mouth as she used her other hand to sooth the pain on her right toes, indicating for Gatomon to lower her voice if she wanted to speak. Although the room was dark, Gatomon could see everything clearly due to her excellent vision, and nodded as she went to the switch to turn on the lights.

"Thanks," Kari whispered gratefully, and squint her eyes to get used to the sudden lights. She then got up and walked towards the desk, pulled out the top drawer slowly and took out the Diginizer of Light, which was revealed to be the source of the strange sound.

"Why does it make that sound?" Gatomon asked. The Diginizer was making a slow, but clear, beeping sound similar to the alarm sounds made by some watches. Kari fiddled with the red buttons on the Diginizer, but didn't press any buttons. As far as she knew from Gennai, she had to press the first, the fourth, the second and the third buttons in that particular sequence to open a digiport whenever and wherever she would like. In order to make Gatomon digivolve, the Diginizer would recognize her voice, so she would just have to say either digivolve, Armor-digivolve, or DNA-digivolve and it would respond instantly. 

Suddenly, the Diginizer flickered and fired out a small ray of lightning which instantly became a digiport gateway. Kari and Gatomon looked at each other, wondering what was happening. 

"Should we go in?" Gatomon asked. 

"I think I'm gonna get Tai," Kari said and got up. She walked out slowly and accidentally kicked the Kamiya's pet cat Miko. "What's with me tonight?" she asked in wonder as she patted Miko's head slowly. "Sorry, Miko." The cat hissed slowly, but then purred when Kari patted its head, and forgave Kari quickly enough. Kari then headed towards Tai's room and tapped his door slowly. 

"Tai?" she whispered loudly. No answer. She tapped again three times, but still she got no answer. Kari then turned the doorknob, and was surprised to see that the door was unlocked. She walked in slowly as she didn't want to kick anything else, and tip-toed slowly towards the bed where Tai was sleeping soundly. 'He sleeps like a baby,' Kari thought silently. 'Maybe I shouldn't wake him up. He's pretty worn out from the soccer tournament.' Kari slowly walked out from Tai's room and headed back towards her own room, where Gatomon was waiting.

"Where's Tai?" she inquired when she saw that Kari was alone.

"I don't want to disturb him. He's pretty tired."

"How about we try to contact the others?" Gatomon suggested. 

"Good idea." Kari took her D-Terminal and typed a brief e-mail and sent it to the other five Digidestined. She then changed her pajamas, and picked out a pair of light blue jeans, a plain white top, and wore a pink sweater on it. When they went to the Digiworld earlier that day, all of them were given the same outfits they'd worn like they used to six months ago. Gennai told them that that was about to change when all of them got the Diginizers, so Kari didn't want to take any risk. She didn't want to go into the Digiworld wearing only her pajamas!

"You're ready?" Gatomon asked impatiently while watching Kari inspected herself in front of the mirror. 

Kari pinned her hair with a hair clip like she always did, and turned to look at her partner. "Ready." The two of them then walked into the digiport gateway, and instantly, the gate vanished, taking the two of them into the Digiworld.

** ***************************

"Set the Velvet Claw on course to Seiryuu City." 

_"Acknowledged. The Velvet Claw is on course to the Eastern region of the Digiworld. Target destination is the Seiryuu sector."_

"Good." Chaos Specter nodded and smiled wistfully as he stared towards Azulongmon. The sovereign of the east stared back defiantly. "If you still refuse to tell me about the prophecy, then I guess I'll have to attack your city first. Let us see whether this can make you talk." He turned back the throne to face the large viewing screen and looked around him.

The Velvet Claw, a name he had given to the flying fortress he resided, was designed to serve as spaceship, battleship, laboratory and major headquarter for himself. It was there where he stayed most of the time and planned his attacks. The Velvet Claw had the ability to travel between dimensions by opening inter-dimensional gateways, which enabled Chaos Specter to conquer one dimension after another. In a glance, the ship looked like a cross between a huge, silver spinning top and a spaceship-plus-battleship. It was equipped with state-of-the-art laser cannons, lightning cannons and all other types of weaponry. The technology was obviously much advanced compared to Earth's current technology, no Earth technologies were currently known of opening inter-dimensional gateways. 

The twelve-storey fortress had the main bridge situated on its topmost floor. It was where Chaos Specter constructed the throne room and the four specially-built prisons for the Harmonious Ones. The bridge was perhaps the largest chamber in the ship, and the throne was placed at its most center point. Encircling the throne in a fifty meter radius were the main viewing screen, the four prisons and the navigational computers which dominated nearly eighty percent of the whole bridge. The throne was built on a high platform where one had to climb its fifty stairs before reaching the throne. It was where Chaos Specter mainly seated and watched his minions doing his bidding. Few digimons were permitted to stand beside his throne while others were deemed unworthy to do so. In fact, only three digimons were given that privilege, and two of them were ChaosWarGreymon and ChaosPiedmon. The third digimon was actually ChaosSeadramon, but he was an extremely gigantic sea dragon digimon he wouldn't fit himself on that platform, unlike his other two counterparts. 

The second-from top floors housed Chaos Specter's personal chamber. No digimons were permitted to go there. The three consequent chambers were for his three Chaos Generals, but ChaosSeadramon's chamber was perhaps the biggest of all three chambers to accommodate him. He had to be practically teleported there as he wouldn't fit the corridors. Chambers below those floors were for Chaos Specter's minions and slaves, the engine room, the food storage chamber, the fuel chamber and at the bottommost floor was the prison cell where he imprisoned digimons that refused to follow his orders.

The computer which Chaos Specter so constantly referring to was actually a product of artificial intelligence, dubbed by him personally as Chaos-AI _(pronounced as Kay-O-Sai)_. It was incorporated with a woman's voice, and was capable of navigating the Velvet Claw by itself without anyone piloting it. It responded to Chaos Specter's commands only, and all others were simply ignored, unless they were given specific permission by Chaos Specter himself. Chaos-AI also was equipped with an extensive knowledge about almost all species and types of digimons. Its other capabilities were yet to be known, but Chaos Specter was glad that it was he who had gained the technology, which he used to aid his aim to dominate all dimensions of the Digiworld.

_"One Digidestined and a digimon detected on the East region of the Digiworld,"_ Chaos-AI reported. It was given the command to detect any Digidestined that had come to the Digiworld.

"Only one?" Chaos Specter asked, and smiled curtly. "Show it on the viewing screen." 

Chaos-AI complied, and displayed a shoulder-length, brown-haired girl wearing a pink sweater and blue jeans riding a digimon with her face covered with a mask which resembled the face of a sphinx. The digimon's body was all white, and she had a long tail with some purple stripes. Her front paws were covered with silver armor with yellowish-green paw, and she wore silver armor on her body.

"Well would you look at that? The Digidestined of Light, and her partner digimon!" Chaos Specter exclaimed with an amused tone. "Why would she be alone here at this hour? I could use this opportunity to eliminate her once and for all." 

"Do you want us to go and attack her, master?" ChaosPiedmon asked.

"No. We'll leave her for now. It's Seiryuu City on the Blue Dragon Island that I'm targeting right now. We can get to the girl later." Chaos Specter then thought for a while before commanding, "Send two Ultimate digimons to attack Seiryuu City right now."

Two digimons were displayed on the screen. One of them looked like a giant grey insect, and the other digimon was relatively smaller in size, resembling a man with blue skin wearing chains on his tall and muscular body. Chaos-AI announced their particulars.

_"Okuwamon, a Virus type Ultimate level digimon. His attacks are the Double Scissor Claw which is so devastating it can even cut a diamond into two; and Beetle Horn Attack, which is a beam of lightning erupting from his head."_

_"SkullMeramon, a Virus type Ultimate level digimon. His main attack, Heavy Metal Fire, can burn his opponents with blazing flames of inferno. SkullMeramon is also known to have the ability to control the temperature around him, effectively within a kilometer radius."_

** ***************************

"It's beautiful," Kari whispered, and beckoned Nefertimon to look at the sea they were passing by. The moon's silvery image and the maroon-colored sky were reflected from the sea's surface, and there was a school of Dolphmons racing each other. The digiport gateway had taken both of them right in front of Asuka City, and since they didn't know what else to do with the constantly-beeping Diginizer of Light, they'd decided for Gatomon to test out the Diginizer's power of Armor-digivolving as well. Thus, she became Nefertimon, and the two made up their mind to go to Seiryuu sector as they hadn't been there before.

Seiryuu sector and the city were located on one of the islands spread even further than the File Island from the Server continent, while Asuka sector was on the continent. In fact, the File Island itself was under the Seiryuu sector. There were a cluster of islands called the Seiryuu Archipelago, and it was rumored that there were more than a hundred islands within the archipelago. Seiryuu city was on the largest island there, and the island was called the Blue Dragon Island. In order to go to Seiryuu city, the only option they had was to fly there as they didn't have any marine digimon with them. 

"We should do this more often," Nefertimon replied and looked straight ahead, immediately noticing a very familiar island. "We're passing the File Island," she informed Kari as they flew past the island. The File Island was the place where the original seven Digidestined had their adventures. Had Kari been healthy during those times, she would have joined her seven friends. As they passed the Infinity Mountain, Kari was reminded of Tai's story about Angemon's sacrifice to save the others from the wrath of Devimon, who was terrorizing the island. 

For the next half-an-hour, both of them were silent as Nefertimon picked up speed and flew even faster. Kari, in the meantime, was enjoying the serenity of the night-time of the Digiworld, when suddenly both she and Nefertimon heard a faint explosion coming from the cluster of islands which began to become visible. From afar, they saw smokes coming out from a high mountain, which itself was located on the furthest and also the largest island. Which could only mean one thing, that island was the Blue Dragon Island, and it was under attack! Nefertimon flew even faster, and as they got nearer the island, more noises were heard, from the loud explosions until the cries of the digimons. 

"What's happening out there?" Kari wondered out loud as Nefertimon landed both of them on the nearest island, which was relatively small compared to the other islands. The smaller island was located quite far from the Blue Dragon Island, and they were sure that they were safe there for a short while. Nefertimon de-digivolved back into Gatomon, and the two of them looked up towards the sky as they saw a black version of Birdramon flying away from the islands. 

**_--- DIGIMON ANALYZER ---  
_**_Saberdramon, the alternate Champion form of Biyomon, and the male, black version of Birdramon. He is larger than the latter, and his attacks are the Black Saber, which is similar to Birdramon's Meteor Wings; and Mach Shadow, an attack which is formed when Saberdramon fires a shadow of himself towards his opponent with great speed and slices the opponent to oblivion!_

"Cool," Kari whispered after the digitized voice of Gennai finished explaining to her about Saberdramon. "The Diginizer is now also a Digimon Analyzer." Gennai and Piximon had also incorporated the Digimon Analyzer into the Diginizers during the early stages of their creation. The analyzer came with a simulation of the digimon as well, making it more advanced than the earlier version of the analyzer which was given by Gennai to Izzy's Pineapple laptop.

"Saberdramon, retreat now!" A voice of a young boy called out from the small jungle on the island. Kari and Gatomon braced themselves as they saw the large, black firebird loomed down to them. The Saberdramon glowed brightly and instantly, he de-digivolved back into a Biyomon. A ray of thin white light shot out from Saberdramon as he changed into Biyomon, and the light headed towards the small jungle. A brown-haired, black-eyed boy not more than ten years of age stepped out from the jungle. He was dressed with a black sweater with a hood attached at the neckline, a brown cargo short and a pair of snickers. He wore grey gloves, and had his right hand extended towards the air. The light was aimed towards the boy's extended hand, and Kari finally realized that the boy was holding a D3. The light was entering the turquoise-colored D3. The boy grinned boyishly when he saw Kari and Gatomon stared at him, and walked towards them.

"You look familiar..." Kari started. She then realized that her Diginizer of Light had stopped letting out the beeping sounds. "Are you the one who called us here?" The boy nodded.

"I guess so. I was silently wishing for someone to help actually. My name's Hiroshi, and this is my partner digimon, Biyomon," the boy introduced himself, and patted his partner as the pink bird stood beside him. "You and your friends saved me and some other nineteen kids from that MaloMyotismon six months ago, remember?" The boy was in fact, Hiroshi Kosatsu, one of the children kidnapped by Oikawa, Arukenimon and Mummymon half-a-year ago. Kari nodded as she remembered when the children escaped the darkness that were overwhelming them, and believed in their dreams again. Hiroshi was the first boy who had stepped out from the Dreamworld. Later, when the children were given partner digimons and D3s, Hiroshi was given a Nyokimon. 

Kari and Hiroshi shook hands. "I'm Hikari, but everyone calls me Kari," Kari introduced herself warmly. The male Biyomon and Gatomon got acquainted as well. Kari then looked around them as another explosion erupted from the Blue Dragon Island. "What happens here?"

Hiroshi shook his head. "I don't know," he answered. "I was here with Biyomon as usual for our night strolls on the Digiworld. We've been doing that ever since I received Nyokimon for my partner. Usually, the two of us would spar together to increase Nyokimon's experience. He digivolved into Yokomon a month after that, and became Biyomon after another month. He had digivolved into Saberdramon since three months ago," Hiroshi replied, and took a deep breath. "I was flying with Saberdramon earlier, intended to go to the Blue Dragon Island. We wanted to meet Azulongmon, but then a large battleship shaped like spinning top came from the sky and attacked the city within the island. Saberdramon landed me on this island while he joined forces with the other digimons of these islands to fight off the strange ship." Two Airdramons, one of them the usual Airdramon while the other one was a gold version of itself, were seen flying past the island. 

"Those Airdramons have told me that the ship belonged to Chaos Specter, and that he had captured Azulongmon and the other Harmonious Ones. The ship is called the Velvet Claw," Biyomon added, and Kari was surprised to hear a male voice came out from the pink bird's mouth. His voice sounded like a boy in his early teens, and had a strange, but lovable accent which Kari hadn't heard before. All of them detected movements in the sea, and saw various water-based digimons were swimming away from the archipelago.

"Looks like they are heading to File Island to seek refuge," Gatomon commented, and looked upward towards Kari.

"We have to stop Chaos Specter," Kari said with determination. "Ready, Gatomon?" she asked, and held out her right hand. The Diginizer of Light, which was worn on her wrist, flashed brightly. 

**_[The theme "Evo" plays in the background]_**

"GATOMON TRANS-DIGIVOLVE TO... ANGEWOMON!!" Trans Digivolution was a term coined by Gennai earlier before they got back to Earth. Both Kari and Gatomon then fused together and became Angewomon, as Hiroshi and Biyomon stared in awe.

"You too, Biyomon!" Hiroshi exclaimed, and held out his D3.

"BIYOMON DIGIVOLVE TO... SABERDRAMON!!"

Angewomon took off into the air first, followed by Hiroshi and Saberdramon. They flew towards the Blue Dragon Island where the Velvet Claw was attacking. The ship seemed to be attacking Seiryuu City, which was located around the highest mountain of the island. The buildings of the city were built encircling the mountain in a spiral-like manner from bottom till top, like a snake entwining its prey. On top of the mountain was a vast clearing, which stood two tall towers, and between the two towers was a building which looked like a temple. There was a wide and spacious gathering fort in front of the temple with two towers, and they saw two centaur-like digimons fighting off Okuwamon and SkullMeramon there. One of them was Centarumon, while the other was a larger, black version of him. Angewomon and Saberdramon landed just in front of the temple, and Hiroshi quickly jumped off Saberdramon and hid himself behind the temple's thick poles. The centaurs and their enemies were aware of their presence, yet they continued fighting each other.

**_--- DIGIMON ANALYZER ---  
_**_Sagittarimon, an Armor digimon, is classified as a Vaccine. Although an Armor-level digimon, Sagittarimon's power is almost on par with any Ultimate level digimon and he is known as the highest ranking centaur digimons. His weapons are arrows made of Chrome Digizoid metal called the Judgment Arrows, and the Meteor Gallop, which consists of fireballs formed from his front legs when he gallops to the enemies with unrivalled chivalry! _

The Velvet Claw fired crimson laser beams toward one of the tower. Somebody from within the tower had deflected the laser beams, but then the ship's other cannons began to aim for the other tower as well.

"The ship's attacking Zephyr Tower!" Sagittarimon exclaimed, and aimed one of his Judgment Arrows towards one of Velvet Claw's cannons. The Judgment Arrow sore towards the sky, and was suddenly joined by an arrow of light. Both arrows hit the aimed cannon successfully, and it exploded, resulting for the Velvet Claw to cease fire momentarily. Bewildered, Sagittarimon turned around and saw Angewomon, but he didn't see Okuwamon loomed on him, trying to swipe him away Sagittarimon with his claws.

"DOUBLE SCISSOR CLAW!!"

"Look out! CELESTIAL ARROW!!" Angewomon cried and she fired another arrow towards Okuwamon, who had wanted to take the advantage of Sagittarimon's distracted state. Okuwamon managed to evade the arrow, but at the same time his plan to obliterate Sagittarimon was foiled. "Are you all right?" Angewomon inquired, her attention still fixed on Okuwamon. The massive insectoid digimon brandished all its claws, preparing for a fight, when suddenly he realized that he was unable to move. Angewomon smiled slightly as she saw that the rainbow aura radiating from her body had immobilized Okuwamon successfully, although not completely as she was feeling slightly weak.

"I'm fine. Thank you," the saggitarius answered, and looked at Okuwamon as well. "Shall we finish this together?"

"You bet."

"Okay then," Sagittarimon replied back and took two steps backwards. His front foot began to emit fire. "METEOR GALLOP!!" Sagittarimon galloped towards Okuwamon, and fireballs erupted from his burning feet and shot towards Okuwamon. 

Centarumon gathered up his powers and summoned, "SOLAR RAY!!" A beam of yellow lights erupted from his helmet, aimed towards the staggering Okuwamon, and hit him at the stomach, where Sagittarimon's attacks hit him previously. Okuwamon cried out in pain, and trashed around blindly. He began to feel scared of being outclassed by four digimons.

Saberdramon, who wanted to join the party, channeled his powers to his wings, and summoned, "BLACK SABER!!" Several shots of black sword-shaped fireballs were blasted towards Okuwamon from the skies, destroying all two pairs of the large insect's wings. Okuwamon roared madly and turned around to see the attacker, making him vulnerable to Angewomon who was about to deliver the finishing blow.

"HEAVEN'S CHARMS!!" Angewomon's surroundings glowed pink as she clasped her hands together, forming a vertical ray of pink light. She then swiftly moved both hands to her sides horizontally, forming a horizontal ray of light which moved towards Okuwamon. The deadly attack, combined with the attacks launched by Sagittarimon, Centarumon and Saberdramon which had already weakened Okuwamon earlier, destroyed Okuwamon completely to data particles. Hiroshi, who was hiding behind the city's gate entrance, cheered happily and came out from his hiding, while Angewomon reverted back to Kari and Salamon. 

"Salamon?" Kari asked, bewildered. Salamon looked at herself and sighed.

"I guessed we've used a lot of energy to become Angewomon today," the little puppy answered. 

Distant sounds of metals clashing and shoutings attracted their attentions toward the window of Zephyr Tower. All of them suddenly realized that SkullMeramon was missing, and that there was a battle going on inside the tower.

"Saberdramon, fly up there and see what's going on," Hiroshi instructed. Saberdramon immediately flapped his wings and flew towards the window. A loud cry was heard accompanying a huge blast of fire that came out suddenly from the window, and a digimon was thrown out, crashing through the small window in the process. 

The digimon was medium in height, about the height of a boy. He wore a long, purple hat with a picture depicting a skull on the front. The digimon's lower part of his face was covered with a purple cape, which also covered his neck and back. Only the eyes of the digimon were visible for them to see, but both Kari and Salamon didn't need to look closer to know that those eyes were green as emerald in color. They also knew that the digimon had blonde hair, for they recognized the digimon easily with only one quick look at him. They didn't even have to see his grey skin, light-brown baggy outfit, and the brown gloves and boots which the digimon wore to learn his identity, for every details of the digimon were all registered in their minds. Nearly four years ago, he was their savior. He sacrificed his life for them, and now, seeing that the digimon had fallen, both Kari and Salamon cried out in despair.

"Wizardmon!!"

The digimon, Wizardmon, took a quick glance towards the voices he had heard calling to him. His eyes opened wide when he saw them. "Salamon..." he whispered hoarsely."Kari..."

Meanwhile, SkullMeramon walked towards the broken walls of the Zephyr Tower and laughed madly, before jumping out from the tower. In mid-air, he thrust his long chains which circled around the fallen Wizardmon and pulled the captured digimon towards himself. "You may have defeated my comrade, but I can still get away with one consolation prize! A dear friend of yours, whom my master would be so pleased to meet with." A ray of light came out from one of the Velvet Claw's many cannons, aiming towards SkullMeramon and the captive Wizardmon. The ray of light was used to teleport SkullMeramon and Okuwamon on the Blue Dragon Island earlier.

Saberdramon realized what was going to happen. "I won't let you get away with this!" He flew towards SkullMeramon and twirled himself in mid-air, shouting, "MACH SHADOW!!!" A black, ghostly image of the already-black Saberdramon erupted from the digimon's body, and the image launched itself towards SkullMeramon while bursting itself with coal-colored inferno. 

"Child's play," SkullMeramon replied, still hovering in mid-air. He released Wizardmon from his chains and tucked the wizard firmly under his left arm. His right arm maneuvered the long chains, and he launched the chains towards Saberdramon. "FLAME CHAIN!!!" Saberdramon's specter moved away from the chain with great agility and launched itself towards the beam of light which was about to hit SkullMeramon. 

Saberdramon chuckled as he evaded the chains as they passed him. "Look now and you'll see." SkullMeramon looked at the specter and saw that the bird had tricked him by sending his specter to be transported by the yellow beam instead of him. The yellow beam disappeared, and SkullMeramon was fuming with anger. He thrust the chains back towards him, deliberately slamming Saberdramon in the process. The Champion digimon fell towards the grounds and reverted back to Biyomon.

"You all have messed with me for the LAST time!!" SkullMeramon screamed as he landed on the grounds with a loud thud. He threw Wizardmon away, crashing him on the walls of the Zephyr Tower, and walked towards Kari and Salamon, and Hiroshi and Biyomon. Sagittarimon and Centarumon feared for their friends' safety and galloped towards SkullMeramon together to provide protection. Unfortunately, the evil digimon lashed both of them away with his Flame Chain technique without putting much effort. "Now, I'll get to enjoy burning the four of you alive," SkullMeramon declared as he raised his chains. "FLAME...."

"Not so fast, SkullMeramon!" a voice from behind stopped SkullMeramon from launching the attack, temporarily saving the Digidestined and their weakened digimons. SkullMeramon turned back, and saw Wizardmon standing behind him, holding his staff which got a sunflower shape at its proximal end. "You have done enough damage here already. I will see to it that you will be punished for this!" Wizardmon declared, and raised his staff up high. Suddenly, winds blew from them from out of nowhere, and the sky became cloudier as black clouds suddenly appeared on the skies, replacing the clear ones. Thunders rumbled within the clouds, and lightning flared everywhere. A lightning shot towards Wizardmon's staff, sending bolts of electricity around Wizardmon. The digimon's eyes became all-white. 

**_[The theme "Brave Heart" plays in the background]_**

"By the power of the guardian of the winds, Seiryuu!" Wizardmon's voice echoed the surroundings, and a lightning from the skies bolted towards him. Wizardmon's figure became silver, and he grew taller little by little, taking a more humanly figure. The figure was that of an adult muscular male, pretty much similar to the manly figure appeared while Angemon digivolved into MagnaAngemon. The staff which Wizardmon was holding upright took on a slimmer figure, and a jet of shimmering blue lights erupted from the tip of the staff. The blue lights moved around the staff in a spiral-like motion, transforming it into a sturdy, silver sword with two orifices along the blade. The holes were instantly filled in by two small crystal balls, one green and the other was white. The shimmering blue lights continued to move around the tall adult figure, slowly forming a long, purple hat with silver base. It continued down as the face of the man was still shining with silver lights, and moved down spirally as the man's garment, which was red in color, transformed around the man. Silver armors with gold intricate designs and round sapphires embedded on them attached themselves at both sides of the man's shoulders, in front of his chest, and at both sides of his thighs. The blue lights ended down toward the man's feet by forming two silver boots identical to the armors. The man spun around again, and a long, purple loincloth with gold linings appeared and placed itself along the center of the man's anterior side of the body, and a golden belt with a round jade on its middle attached itself around the man's waist, securing the long loincloth which continued upwards and disappeared under the chest and shoulder armors. Long, purple cape materialized from under the shoulder armors and flowed downwards until the man's ankle level. Lightning flared from the sword again as the silver glow on the man's face disappeared, replaced with a face which instantly recognizable as the face of a good-looking adult Wizardmon, without the stitches on the mouths. Lastly, a glowing crystal ball formed on his left hand, and the newly-digivolved Wizardmon stroke a pose by holding his sword together with both hands, pointing it towards the front, while the glimmering crystal ball hovered around him.

"I am Mystimon," the man introduced himself with a deep, yet calming voice which immediately wipe away all of Kari, Salamon, Hiroshi and Biyomon's fears at once. "With the power bestowed upon me by one of Azulongmon's Digi-Core, I am able to digivolve into my Ultimate form whenever needed," he said. 

"Let's see what the Digimon Analyzer has to say about Mystimon," Kari said towards the Diginizer of Light.

**_--- DIGIMON ANALYZER ---  
_**_Mystimon is the natural Ultimate form of Wizardmon. This Virus type digimon is also known as the magical royal knight. His main attacks are the Core Darts, where he would channel his powers through his sword and made a quick slash to fire some dart-shaped fireballs from the two circular orifices on the sword; and the Blast Fire, where he would generate fiery inferno from his crystal ball and wield the fire with his will. Mystimon is known to possess immense power unrivalled by most Ultimate digimons. _

"That's good to hear," Hiroshi commented. All of them then focused their attention on Mystimon, who was advancing towards SkullMeramon slowly, yet full with confidence.

SkullMeramon stared at Mystimon with great dislike. "Fancy digivolution sequence, I have to admit. Nonetheless, you will still perish under my hands!" SkullMeramon jumped upward, and moved his hands upwards. Blue flames came out from his large body. "METAL...." He was about to launch his powerful Metal Fireball technique.

Mystimon was quicker, though. The crystal ball hovered in front of him and Mystimon held it with his left hand. The ball glowed and let out a small ray of fire, which whirled around Mystimon's hands.

"... FIREBALL!!" SkullMeramon yelled, and launched the attack through his mouth. The thin, laser-like attack was devastatingly powerful, and the surroundings' temperature was suddenly elevated, making all those who were around them felt like they were inside a burning stove.

Mystimon then released both his sword and his crystal ball, and performed a swift sequence of movement by positioning both his hands near his right ribs, palms facing each other and bent a little, and then thrusted both hands forward, crying out, "BLAST FIRE!!" A powerful jet of blazing inferno erupted angrily from both of Mystimon's palms, and engulfed SkullMeramon's attack within seconds before burning the evil digimon to oblivion. SkullMeramon let out a deafening, dying scream before he exploded. 

All of those who were in the surroundings cheered and shouted happily as the temperature cooled down to normal. The Velvet Claw, they saw, made a quick hasty retreat, and almost knocked down four small figures flying towards the Blue Dragon Island. Kari squinted, and saw ExVeemon, Stingmon, Aquilamon and Pegasusmon approaching the island. She then heard someone calling her name, and saw Cody and Armadillomon running towards her from the gate of the temple. The four airborne digimons landed, and Davis, Ken, Yolei and T.K. jumped down as the digimons reverted back into their Rookie forms.

"Hi guys," Kari greeted them warmly. "Sorry you all have just missed the fun." The five newly-arrived Digidestined looked towards Hiroshi and Biyomon, before moving on towards Centarumon, Sagittarimon, and finally, Mystimon.

"Whoa!" Davis exclaimed in awe. "Who in the world is THAT?"

"That's Mystimon," Hiroshi supplied. "He's our hero of the day." All of the Digidestined's attentions were diverted to Hiroshi.

"And you are...?" Yolei asked and raised an eyebrow. Hiroshi then introduced himself to the others. Mystimon then reverted back to Wizardmon, and they all welcomed the newly-arrived Digidestined on the Blue Dragon Island, or to put it more accurately, on what's left on the Blue Dragon Island.

** ***************************

The Digidestined then spent the whole night helping out Centarumon, Sagittarimon and the other digimons of Blue Dragon Island to clean up the mess caused by the attack of Velvet Claw, and left Wizardmon to talk with Kari and Salamon alone. T.K. had ushered the others away, saying that the three of them needed time to do some catching up. 

Salamon's eyes had tears on them. She couldn't believe her eyes when she saw Wizardmon again, falling down from the window of Zephyr Tower about three hours ago. Now that Wizardmon was in front of her, she began to cry. Kari, who was hugging her decided to let her partner go, and Wizardmon picked her up and hugged her close to him. The two best friends were silent for a while, both were crying silently. Kari could even feel tears forming at her eyes, and was reminded of that fateful day when Wizardmon sacrificed himself to save Kari and Gatomon from Myotismon's attack. About a year ago, they had met the ghost of Wizardmon, who was haunting Odaiba's television station, which was the place where he died. 

"How did you get here...?" Salamon inquired in a voice which was no more than a whisper. "I thought you were stuck on Earth?"

Wizardmon looked at his best friend's pair of brown eyes, and realized that he had never seen her in her Rookie form during the times when both of them were under Myotismon. Gatomon, he had remembered, was extremely tough even though Myotismon had seemed to make it a point to beat her up whenever he would like. Gatomon had told him about that earlier, about how Myotismon hated her eyes when she was Salamon. Wizardmon could now see why. The eyes were cute, and reflected innocence, goodness and kindness. Wizardmon could see that in Salamon's eyes, even in Gatomon's eyes too, when he thought back about it. There was something different about those eyes, and by studying her eyes Wizardmon knew that Gatomon was not meant to be evil. She was a good digimon, destined for something special, but he didn't know exactly what, until the times when Myotismon invaded Earth in search of the child destined to possess the Crest of Light.

"I was trapped," Wizardmon answered with a hushed tone. He was trying to calm Salamon down. "For a long time, my spirit was trapped on Odaiba. I couldn't get reconfigured because I wasn't at the Digiworld, and I couldn't get back because all the digiports were closed." He then took a deep breath. "It was when Daemon had opened a digiport at Highton View Terrace six months ago, I saw my chances to go back to the Digiworld. My spirit flew in silently before all of you opened the gateway to the World of Darkness," Wizardmon related his story to Salamon and Kari. 

"Then, my spirit changed back into data particles and I got reconfigured as a digi-egg at Primary Village at File Island. Elecmon took good care of me when I hatched from the digi-egg almost a week later. It was the time when the Digiworld was a peaceful world. I was a Poyomon then, and I matured into a black version of Tokomon. All the baby digimons there, especially the white version of Tokomons, were terrified at the sight of me, saying that I would grow up to be an evil digimon. Fortunately, Elecmon didn't judge me the way I appeared, and I was grateful for him. I didn't blame the others though, a black Tokomon was indeed a very rare kind of digimon, and not likeable, too."

"Why is that?" Kari asked.

"Until now, there were only three black Tokomons ever hatched from digi-eggs. One was me. The other two grew up to be notorious digimons embracing the power of evil. They were Devimon and Myotismon." Wizardmon then wiped the tears from Salamon's eyes with his gloved index finger. 

Salamon inquired, "What about you, Wizardmon?" 

Wizardmon smiled to his friend. "I then digivolved into DemiDevimon, and again was further shunned by the other digimons for DemiDevimons were known for their trickery and foulness. Elecmon remained nice, though, and he trained me for a while until one day, Azulongmon appeared before us all at File Island. He told me that he had been watching me, and he wanted me to be his disciple. I was ecstatic, and immediately agreed. Under Azulongmon trainings, I had gained experience pretty fast, and matured into my current form naturally after only three months. Azulongmon then assigned me to guard Zephyr Tower. Before he went to fight Chaos Specter a few days ago, he'd left me one of his Digi-Core, which would enable me to digivolve into my Ultimate form temporarily."

About an hour later, the other Digidestined and digimons joined them. Kari filled them in with what they had missed, while Salamon and Wizardmon were talking and laughing with each other.

"It's so good to see her so happy again," Kari said to her friends, and looked back to make sure neither Salamon nor Wizardmon were listening. "I've never seen Salamon, or Gatomon, this happy until this day. Sometimes I would catch Gatomon brooding, looking out the window at the moon, but she never told me what she was thinking. Not that I don't know that she often thought about Wizardmon."

"Were they like a..." Yolei was about to ask, but Kari cut her back quickly.

"A couple? No... more like the best of friends," she said. "Gatomon saved Wizardmon from a near-death condition when she found him at the desert, and Wizardmon was indebted to her for that. They were best friends ever since... until the day Wizardmon died to save both of us. Gatomon had lost every hope to see Wizardmon again, but she kept it really well."

"Must be from all those hard trainings she'd received," T.K. commented. 

A while later, Sagittarimon and Centarumon joined them. "We couldn't thank you enough for helping us out today. Without you all, Blue Dragon Island and Seiryuu City might not be able to see the light of another day ever again. Care for a brief tour before you go back to your home world?"

"The pleasure's all ours, Sagittarimon, but really it is them you have to thank to," Davis answered back, and pointed at Wizardmon and Salamon, who were both oblivious of what's going on. 

"And not to forget, our new friends here," Ken continued, and patted Hiroshi's right shoulder and Biyomon's head. The two of them blushed slightly. 

"It was nothing, really. I'm glad to be able to help out," Hiroshi replied sincerely. "Wait till I tell the others about this. Boy, will they be so jealous!" 

"The others?" Cody asked. "You mean, Noriko and all the other children?"

Hiroshi nodded. "After the whole thing with MaloMyotismon, the four of us - I, Noriko, Keiko and Takashi became very close. We plan to form a group just like you guys," he replied cheerfully, and smiled. 

"How are the others doing?" Yolei inquired. "How's their digimons?"

"Well... Noriko's Punimon had digivolved into Tsunomon just about the same time as my Nyokimon became Yokomon. Then the Tsunomon evolved into Penguinmon, and later became Swanmon when she digivolved. Keiko's SnowBotamon became Nyaromon, and later Salamon as well, but the Salamon then evolved to a massive Maildramon. Takashi's Poyomon evolved to Tokomon and later Tsukaimon. He looks just like a purple version of your Patamon," he beckoned towards T.K.'s Patamon. "The Tsukaimon then digivolved to Rinkmon," he concluded with a proud smile, as if he had delivered his first lecture on digimons.

Ken grinned back warmly, and flashed a thumb up. "It's good to hear that all of you have taken care of your partners well. We're really looking forward to meet all of you someday. Maybe all of you can help us out."

"Yeah, it'll be great. I really look forward to a Digidestined reunion someday," Hiroshi agreed, and looked at his watch. "Oh man, I'm sorry guys but I really have to go now. It's almost five in the morning, and I've got an early morning today. We're going back to Kyushu in the afternoon, to my dad's home town, and mom will be mad at me for not packing up my stuff yet." Hiroshi then shook hands with all the Digidestined and the digimons, followed by Biyomon. "Maybe I'll come back here someday to visit you guys and Seiryuu city. Really, it's been a wonderful experience." He then looked at Biyomon. "Feel up to an early morning flight, Biyomon?" he asked, and took out his D3.

"Sure!" Biyomon answered enthusiastically, and he digivolved into Saberdramon once again. Hiroshi then boarded his Champion partner and flew away. The Digidestined and the digimons all waved him as the two of them flew further and further away from the Seiryuu Archipelago.

Davis crossed his arms across his chest. "That Hiroshi... he really has all the makings to be a great Digidestined." The others couldn't agree more. 

** ***************************

"Looks like both of them have failed, master," ChaosPiedmon remarked after seeing Mystimon obliterated SkullMeramon. 

Chaos Specter's expression was calm. Indeed, for years the Chaos Generals had been under him, not once they had seen him angry, even during the times when he had failed, or when they had failed him. He was a very patient man, and that virtue was what had gained him respect from all the evil digimons which chose to serve him. It was also the quality which made him successful in his every attempt to get everything that he wanted. Especially when there was no one to fight back.

"Those two weren't bright enough anyway," he shrugged off ChaosPiedmon's comment. "We'll get Seiryuu City next time, won't we, my dear kitty?" he said to the BlackGatomon who was curled on his lap. The BlackGatomon raised her head and stared at Chaos Specter with her green eyes, and purred softly before resuming back to her sleep. Chaos Specter smiled and stroked the cat's head gently. 

ChaosWarGreymon stared at Chaos Specter and his BlackGatomon. For once, he had thought that he wasn't that evil after all for showing so much affection towards that BlackGatomon, but then he had known better that beneath the caring demeanor he had expressed towards the black cat, Chaos Specter was capable of being a ruthless conqueror anytime he wanted to be. That had been displayed so many times during those times when Chaos Specter used the Velvet Claw to travel from one dimension to another, conquering those dimensions as a mark of his presence. As he watched the two of them, ChaosWarGreymon felt a deja' vu. It was as if he had experienced something like that himself. _But when?_ he thought silently. _And where?_ Frustrated, he walked off again as he usually did.

"What's up with him?" ChaosSeadramon asked, feeling annoyed of ChaosWarGreymon's sudden change of behavior. 

"Never mind him. We've got a bigger fish to worry for," Chaos Specter snapped. The screen flickered, and an extremely familiar digimon appeared before him. The digimon was wearing all-black; his head had two horns protruded at both sides. White eyes flashed dangerously from his masked face, and the mask covered the upper-half portion of his head, revealing white skins of his remaining lower-half portion of the face. From what Chaos Specter had seen on the screen, the digimon was wearing black leather outfit, which had an image of a white skull on his left shoulder. Large, black, tattered wings gave the digimon a look of pure evil, and the digimon flashed both of his long, thin hands which ended up as fearsome-looking claws. "I think you might be of use of me now."

The digimon's eyes glowed red. "I have a score to settle with the child called T.K., and his digimon Patamon. I will make sure to terminate both of them. You'll figure out a way to deal with the rest," he said with full determination.

Chaos Specter was slightly taken aback. Not one of his three Chaos Generals, whom all were Megas, had even dared to talk to him with that manner, yet this digimon, who was only a mere Champion, had done just that! "Fair enough," he said finally, his voice bore no traces of anger. "But, IF you don't get the job done, I will see to it that my Chaos Generals will go and destroy you themselves," he threatened slowly, indicating that he didn't approve of the digimon's rudeness. 

"It will be done," the digimon simply replied, and disappeared.

* * *

**to be continued....**


	7. Ramifications

Note: I'm sorry for the delay of this chapter. With exams, winter holiday and internet connection problem happening almost at the same time I can't update for more than a month. Anyway, I'd like to take the opportunity to thank everyone who had reviewed this story. They're really eye openers for me and I really appreciate them. 

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, Digimon World 2 and Digimon World 3. 

** VENGEANCE   
- Chapter 06 - Ramifications -  
**

A particularly disturbing phenomenon was occuring in the Eastern region of the Digital World. The usually-clear night sky was covered with strange purple haze, and dark clouds appeared out of nowhere covering the sky in darkness. Winds were blowing from the clouds and thunderclap rumbled every few seconds. In some parts, there were huge downpour of rains coupled with strong winds and severe lightnings.

Though unusual, it was pretty much normal compared to what was happening at the File Island.

The Infinity Mountain was a tall mountain located on the central region of File Island. Thick purple clouds were hovering and thwirling around the peak of the mountain. Bolts of eerie gray electricity thundered out from the clouds, their action maneuvered by a digimon standing there all alone. The digimon was tall, with his figure resembling a fallen angel, or rather, a devil. He was clad in black leather robes, had large, tattered black wings on his back, and had two horns protruding from the sides of his head. 

This digimon was the very digimon known to terrorize the island long ago by launching his controlling devices known as the Black Gears to gain complete control of the digimons to do his bidding. His aim was to ensure that the prophecy he had unearthed not to be fulfilled. Alas, his effort proved futile when Angemon appeared and destroyed him with one blow, sacrificing himself in the process.

He was known as Devimon.

**************************************

Devimon remembered everything that occured after the event clearly as if it had just happened the day before. Just before his corporeal body was almost destroyed, Devimon's spirit escaped. Though he was no longer visible and could not pose as a threat, Devimon vowed to return someday for revenge. He waited for his spirit, as in, his data, to be reconfigured into a digi-egg. He would start over. And so he waited. As days turned to weeks and weeks turned into months, Devimon still had not been reconfigured. Refusing to give up, Devimon tried to find a way and lingered around Primary Village.

His hope died away when one day he heard Elecmon told a few In-Training digimons never, ever to even think of becoming evil. Intrigued, he hovered close and listened. He was mildly surprised when Elecmon told them about him.

"Devimon was perhaps the meanest digimon around here. Thanks to Angemon he was gone for good!"

"Good? Hah, as if!" Devimon thought to himself, rather annoyed but he continued listening anyway.

"I heard that Angemon died as well after destroying Devimon?" one In-training whom Devimon recognized as a Gigimon asked. 

"Yes," Elecmon replied. "But good digimons always got reconfigured. Angemon's data instantly formed a digi-egg after he died."

"Whatever happened to Devimon? He's the bad guy." Another In-training known as Viximon inquired.

"Yes Viximon... Devimon's the bad guy, which is why we've never seen him again. Bad digimons NEVER got reconfigured!"

The conversation played in his mind many times. If it was true, then any chance of him to get revenge had diminished before it even appeared! No way, he had thought. He refused to give up hope, which was ironic as over the course of time he watched as T.K., the Digidestined he was aftering, was given the Crest of Hope. Seeing Patamon had successfully attained his Ultimate form of Magna Angemon almost caused Devimon to think twice about getting revenge.

"He can become an Ultimate, while I'm stuck forever as Champion, and a spirit!"

Magna Angemon could even give Piedmon, the leader of the Dark Masters, a good fight and was the one responsible for his demise.

Devimon continued watching the Digidestined successfully defeated Apocalymon, and the Digital World was reformatted. Every deleted digimons were going to be reborn as the demise of Apocalymon meant that the Digital World was starting anew. Suddenly Devimon felt a strange force was pulling him somewhere, and Devimon half-guessed that he was also going to be reconfigured.

"Finally!"

However, fate had something else in mind as Devimon was pulled into a middle of an ocean. The serenity of the ocean was instantly disrupted as the sky grew dark and lightnings bolted towards the ocean, causing huge waves flowing in every direction. Two particularly massive waves coming from two opposite directions collided with each other and formed a whirlpool. A great, big whirlpool. And Devimon felt his spirit was pulled over inside the whirlpool.

Two pairs of gleaming crimson eyes flashed from the walls of the whirlpool. An eerie voice echoed to him in all directions, saying nothing but was laughing a long and evil cackle. Instantly, Devimon felt his astral self began to solidify and his corporeal body returned to him. He was back! 

"Who are you?!" Devimon demanded. 

Devimon then prepared to fly outside of the whirlpool when he realized he was unable to do so. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't get himself out from the whirlpool. 

"Just great! Now I'm alive again, only to be trapped inside a stupid whirlpool!" Devimon was angered, and shouted out his thoughts in rage.

"A small price to pay for what I've done to you." The voice replied back.

"Who are you?"

"That's none of your concern. You will stay here and guard the gateway to the World of Darkness forever!" The voice then broke off into a series of maniacal laugh which became fainter after every second until it finally disappeared.

Devimon was startled and demanded to know the identity of the voice, but then the voice never replied back. 

And so, Devimon had no choice but to wait. For three years, he waited.

His big break however, came during the encounter with the Digimon Emperor. Seeing no other way of escaping, he let the Digimon Emperor absorb his data after giving him a cryptic warning, "Beware the darkness." 

Devimon instantly move his spirit self away again as his corporeal body's data was harvested by the Digimon Emperor to be integrated into his genetically-engineered digimon, Kimeramon. Realizing that Kimeramon was an Ultimate, Devimon saw his chance of finally getting revenge and entered Kimeramon's body. Inside, Devimon gained control over the digimon, causing Kimeramon to disobey the Digimon Emperor. Devimon had meant to use Kimeramon to attack T.K. and Patamon, but the strong Ultimate digimon proved uncontrollable and had wanted to destroy all Digidestined. 

Seeing that he had nothing to lose, Devimon relented and dropped his control over the digimon. Kimeramon however was defeated by Magnamon and once again Devimon lost his corporeal body for good. Once again, his spirit was pulled back inside the whirlpool.

"I thought I told you to stay and guard the gate?"

After three years, Devimon had least expected to hear the strange voice again.

"Well I never even once saw what the purpose of me being here!" Devimon had retorted angrily.

The voice chuckled. "You'll know soon enough."

"Soon? How soon?"

The voice was silent and Devimon thought it had left him alone again. He was relieved when the voice came back to him. "How soon is now?"

"What do you mean, now?"

Devimon's question was answered when he became solid once again. "What's the use of this body when I can't get out?"

"I have use for you... besides, if you go out now you'll easily be obliterated by those children."

"Thanks for the thought," Devimon had sneered upon the voice's reply. 

"Very well then. Come!" 

The ocean's floor suddenly warped revealing some kind of a gateway. Devimon had the feeling that the voice had wanted him to enter the gateway. Doubting himself, Devimon flew towards the gateway and was instantly led into a dark world. Everything was dark and gloomy. Devimon had the sinking feeling that he was now in the infamous World of Darkness. In a way, the world resembled the Digital World save for the fact that everything was dull in color, and most of things were in black and white.

Devimon investigated his surroundings instantly, and was met with a vast ocean. "This must be the Dark Ocean." he thought. "Certainly lives up to its name."

"Welcome, Devimon." Suddenly, Devimon was taken by surprise by the voice that had instructed him to come to the World of Darkness earlier. Devimon spun, and was met face to face with a digimon wearing long red and white garments with large black wings protruded from his back. The inner side of the wings were purple instead of black. The digimon's face was covered with semi-black colored cloth that was presumably wrapped around his face, hiding his face and only revealing a pair of glowing fiendish pair of white eyes. Those eyes were a stark contrast with the total blackness which was the digimon's face. The digimon had white segmented horns coming out from both of the sides of his head. Those horns were pointing upwards. Devimon's eyes however was mostly attracted by the amulet which the digimon was wearing. It was beady, and had a plain medallion at the center. The medallion was emitting crimson lights.

"And you are..?" Devimon asked back rudely in return. "You're the one who called me here." Devimon recognized the voice, although he had only the faintest idea of who the digimon standing in front of him might be.

The digimon let out something which was something sounds like an approval and a scowl. "I am Daemon, perhaps the most powerful digimon ever existed."

"So you're the one who made me wait for three years in that damned whirlpool!" Devimon yelled, angered all the sudden. "THREE YEARS!!"

"Indeed I am."

"Explain!"

Daemon scoffed. "You're in no position to order me around. You are a mere Champion, while I am a Mega."

"You still owe..."

"But I will explain it anyway... you have the right to know. But first I have to ask you a question."

Devimon merely nodded.

"After all these years of waiting, and another three years in that whirlpool, do you feel that your powers are actually increasing?"

This question surprised the fallen angel digimon, and for a while he pondered on the answer. "I don't know."

"You've never got reconfigured, so you never lose your powers. However, since you never got in any battle, your level of power is still the same now as it was years ago," Daemon explained. "Your experience is perhaps the most valuable of all. When you enter Kimeramon's body, I believe that somehow your digital DNA structure has mutated, and some data of Kimeramon is now within you."

"I am NOT a freak like Kimeramon!" Devimon growled indignantly.

"I didn't say that!" Daemon snapped. He raised his hands slightly, bringing them closer to the medallion hanging on his neck and chanted something in a language Devimon didn't understand. The medallion glowed brighter with red lights, and a red beam shot out from it and landed in front of Devimon. Three digi-eggs formed as the beam began to subsided.

"What are those?" Devimon inquired, looking at the digi-eggs. One of them was pink, with black stripes. Another was brown with red stripes, while the third digi-egg had blue with gray stripes. 

"These are the digi-eggs of my future warriors. The Daemon Corps."

"I.. never heard... of a... ridiculous... name... like that!" Devimon said slowly.

"You have a better idea? Anyway, I'm planning to increase the growth rate of these digi-eggs so that I'll have three powerful warriors on my side. I will be needing your digital DNA for this matter."

Devimon sneered. "I thought you are the most powerful Mega digimon around? Why not use your own digital DNA? With luck, you'll probably end up with Ultimate or even Mega digimons at your disposal."

"I would do that if it is possible, but I don't wish for other digimon to possess my powers even though the purpose is for my own benefit. Call it vanity if you want to, but I am not keen of ending up with three other Daemons as warriors."

"So you'd rather have three Devimons instead?"

"Not really. You are still a mere Champion. As far as I know, you have various digivolutionary stages awaiting you. Even the famed Myotismon was once, a Devimon."

"Don't even compare me with that lipstick-wearing blood-sucking wimp. He got beaten by a girl digimon, which is kind of a disgrace! At least I'm beaten by a male digimon."

"Angewomon is a powerful adversary. You might even face her someday."

"Then I'll prove that I'm better than Myotismon, or even that another lipstick lover bozo Piedmon!"

"My, you seems to have a thing against lipstick."

"Don't you? Or are you wearing lipstick also behind that cloth that's covering your face?"

"Rest assured that I don't. So, are you going to let me have your digital DNA, or do I have to take it by force?"

"How nice of you to ask first," Devimon retorted. "Go ahead then."

Daemon seemed to be considering something. "With your digital DNA and my powers, I'm safely betting that we'll have three Ultimate digimons ready at disposal anytime soon."

"Ultimates?" Devimon gulped. "No way! I'm not an Ultimate myself."

"That's because I possess an immense ammount of power." Daemon then raised his hands forward, his palms opened, and muttered something which sounds like a child's ramblings. The medallion he was wearing let out a beam of crimson light towards Devimon's chest, and entered it swiftly. Devimon shook a little from the force, but managed to retain his standing position. Daemon then made a pulling gesture with his right hand, and three black and red double-helixal digital DNAs of Devimon shot out from his body. Devimon was fascinated and watched as the digital DNAs entered the digi-eggs. 

Daemon looked directly at Devimon as the digi-eggs began to let out a blast of fiery red lights. "About that lipstick thing, Devimon, please try not to be too surprised..."

"What do you mean?"

"Look." Daemon's eyes lingered at the first digi-egg, whose red lights began to form a silhoutte of a tall and slim woman. The digimon emerged from it was none other than the infamous Lady Devimon.

Devimon's jaw dropped a little. He couldn't believe it. While Myotismon and Piedmon only wore lipsticks, he had the possibility of digivolving into a female digimon himself. Daemon smirked a little, although it was hidden by the cloth wrapped around his head. Lady Devimon took a few seconds to study her surroundings before noticing Daemon and Devimon. She bowed and dropped on one knee in front of Daemon.

The other two digi-eggs then let out two silhouttes, one about the same size of Lady Devimon's although noticably more masculine and way thinner, while the other one was massive. Those two figures became Skull Satamon and Marine Devimon respectively. The two newly - digivolved Ultimates noticed Lady Devimon was on one knee, and proceeded by doing the same.

"My Daemon Corps warriors," Daemon said approvingly. "This is Devimon," he introduced, causing the Ultimates to focus their attention towards Devimon. "I believe in this case, he's your father since you're all having his digital DNA within you."

"But he's only a Champion digimon!" Lady Devimon exclaimed in surprise. Devimon felt insulted. Newly-digivolved, and already she knew how to complain? Seemed to him that Daemon also included everything those digimons ever need to know while transfering his powers to the digi-egg. Or was it his fault? After all they were taking his digital DNA, perhaps they also somehow received a part of his knowledge as well. Was that possible?

"True but I have the same chance of crushing all of you right now if I want to," Devimon retorted back finally. Lady Devimon glared at him in return, quite unsure whether to shot back or just remain silent.

"Don't fight," Daemon broke in. "All three of you, be silent. Devimon, we need to discuss something."

"And I have something I wanted to ask you!"

"Go ahead. Ask."

"When am I going to be an Ultimate? It seems not fair that they get to become Ultimates almost instantly after they hatched."

"Your time will come some day, that I know for sure. With your current state of powers, it's possible that you will attain your true Ultimate form anytime soon. In a few months time, after I train these three warriors of mine, I will set foot on the Digidestined's home planet. There is something in particular that I want from one of them." Daemon raised his right hand slightly, and a small orb materialized on his palm. The orb showed the event's currently happening on the Digital World. It was showing the Digimon Emperor throwing away all his emperor costumes and became his true self Ken Ichijouji up until the event where Wormmon exploded into million tiny bits of data particles.

"Pity." Devimon commented.

"A year ago, the now-former Digimon Emperor had a Dark Spore planted on his neck by Milleniummon when he stepped in the way to save his friend from the spore. The spore seemed to enhance his physical and mental prowess ever since, and I believe if I have the Dark Spore it'll be advantageous for my future plans."

"Milleniummon? I must have missed that part," Devimon said thoughtfully, having absolutely no idea of what Milleniummon actually was. He was trapped inside the whirlpool after the defeat of Apocalymon.

"Never mind him," Daemon said. "Anyway, as a token of gratitude which I rarely give out, I'm giving you a part of my power. You'll be able to open interdimensional gateways and have the same ability to create warriors of your own, but you'll have to practice those skills first. Aside from that, you will need to train hard to achieve your natural Ultimate stage. However, take your time and don't try to force yourself to digivolve." Daemon's medallion shot a ray of black energy beam towards Devimon, and Devimon suddenly felt his powers increasing. 

"Why are you doing this?" Devimon asked.

"I see great potential in you, Devimon. If you somehow managed to attain your Mega form, perhaps I will consider having you as a second-in-command."

"I work solo, thanks," Devimon replied back. "But I'll... think about it."

"Good."

A couple of months later, Daemon and his three servants set out to Earth to look for the Dark Spore inside Ken while Devimon stayed back at the World of Darkness, continuing his training. By then, he already attained his true Ultimate stage, but as the form slightly drained him of his energy Devimon spent some time to master his digivolution, as well as perfecting the skills Daemon had passed on to him. As he watched Daemon pit his trength with three digimons which Devimon didn't recognize, an interdimensional gateway / digi-port materialized on the sky, and Daemon was hurled into the World of Darkness as the gateway was sealed.

Daemon was slightly limping as he walked along the beach of the enygmatic Dark Ocean. He saw Devimon staring at him.

"Er.. greetings," Devimon began.

"Don't even ask." Daemon warned.

"Not going too."

"That blasted Digidestined! One day, they'll pay for this." 

Devimon assessed Daemon's condition. Daemon looked normal on the outside, but Devimon knew that he was actually deeply wounded. The battle with those three strange new digimons must had drained him of his powers.

"It's a pity I haven't mastered my highest Mega form," Daemon remarked. "Then I would be able to crush them as easily as swapping away some Flymons."

"I thought you are already a Mega?" Devimon asked.

Daemon looked at Devimon. "Normally, a Mega digimon could not digivolve any further. However, some digimons have a weaker Mega form before reaching its true form. I am a living proof of that. This form is actually my weaker form."

"I'd hate to see your true form then," Devimon replied.

"For now, I'll let the Digidestined be. I sensed something strange in that Oikawa guy, but couldn't recognize it. My guess that he'll be the worst enemy the Digidestined have to face, now that they'd successfully banished me back here."

"You can easily make a gateway back to Earth."

"And get my butt blasted here again? No thanks. For now, let them fight those two pathethic human-serving digimons (A/N: Arukenimon and Mummymon). If you want, you may go there now to fight those kids, although I think you still need more training."

"Look who's talking," Devimon said dryly.

"Someday I'll have my revenge. Now, I'm off to some other place to train. Don't even think of trying to bother me." With that, Daemon opened a digi-port to a place Devimon never knew, and disappeared. That was the last time Devimon saw Daemon.

"I'm not going to," Devimon muttered, and looked at the orb he'd made. He saw how the Digidestined was lured into the World of Dreams by a villain later revealed to be Malo Myotismon. "Hmph, that sissy again!" Devimon remarked. "I'm gonna enjoy seeing those Digidestined kick his sorry butt." He watched as the World of Dreams made it possible for the digimons to digivolve to their various digivolutionary forms and the time when Imperialdramon Fighter Mode deliver the final blow to Malo Myotismon's spirit to avoid him from returning ever again for good. 

"This DNA digivolution of theirs may cause of problem for me..." Devimon contemplated with himself. "Those two Ultimates aren't a problem.. it's Imperialdramon, especially in his Fighter Mode. Looks like I may need more time to prepare myself before the final face off!"

Devimon knew what challenges he was about to face and began to train hard. For six consecutive months, he trained to increase his power so that he'd be as strong as a Mega while in his Champion or Ultimate stage. He had one goal in his mind. To defeat the ones who had caused his downfall. 

"I'll prove it that the prophecy was wrong! The youngest ones shall NOT be my downfall."

**************************************


	8. Devimon Strikes Back I

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

A/N: Sorry this takes so long. I've redone the Pilot Chapter and Chapter 6, adding more information for later chapters. In Chapter 5, I've mentioned the new mode of digivolution being called Mach Digivolution, but from this chapter onwards it'll be called Trans-digivolution. 

** VENGEANCE  
  
Chapter 07 - Devimon Strikes Back, Part I**

** by Alforce Zero**

"I have a score to settle with the child called T.K., and his digimon Patamon. I will make sure to terminate both of them. You'll figure out a way to deal with the rest."

"Fair enough. But, if you don't get the job done, I will see to it that my Chaos Generals will go and destroy you themselves."

"It will be done." Devimon smirked as he broke off the communication link between himself and Chaos Specter.

From the top of the peak of the Infinity Mountain, the tallest mountain on File Island, Devimon watched from a far as the Velvet Claw pulled out from the Blue Dragon Island on Seiryuu Archipelago. Using a viewing orb, which was given to him by Daemon at the World of Darkness before they parted ways, Devimon observed the battle between Chaos Specter's forces, which consisted of Skull Meramon and Okuwamon, being defeated by Angewomon and Mystimon.

"This lady angel digimon is the one who defeated that sissy four years ago," Devimon muttered as he remembered how Angewomon finished off Myotismon with her Celestial Arrow. "And what's this? A human and a digimon combined. What happened to the DNA digivolution?" he wondered to himself. 

Devimon, the first major villain the Digidestined had to face, had returned to the File Island unnoticed just as Chaos Specter made his grand entry into the Digital World. He had acquired Daemon's ability to conjure up a digiport at will, enabling him to move back and forth from one dimension into another. As soon as he arrived on File Island, the first thing he did was to rebuild his dark fortress. It didn't take much energy from him to do that, he was able to construct a palace by himself using pure dark magic a long time ago. From there, he took his time to analyze and strategize his moves. It was then Chaos Specter had contacted him in the first place.

"Greetings, Devimon." Chaos Specter had begun their conversation. Devimon was quite surprised that a human such as Chaos Specter would be able to contact him just as he had descended back on the Digital World. Curious, Devimon carried on.

"Who are you?"

"An inter-dimensional Digital World conqueror who goes by the name of Chaos Specter."

The name rang a bell. "So you're the one who managed to capture the Harmonious Ones without much effort?" 

"So you've heard of me. I have to say that you flatter me by saying that I managed to capture the four guardians without putting too much effort. I have my Chaos Generals to thank for that." Chaos Specter introduced Chaos WarGreymon, Chaos Piedmon and Chaos Seadramon to him while Devimon observed with mild interest. But he had to admit that he was impressed that Chaos Specter, being a human, managed to control three powerful and exceptional Mega digimons. His interest somehow elevated when Chaos Specter told him about the destruction of the Digidestined's digivices, and the new power they had gained from the Diginizers.

"It has the power to fuse a Digidestined with his or her partner digimon," Chaos Specter explained, and proceeded by showing him the battle footage between Angewomon and his minions, Megadramon and Gigadramon. 

"What is it that you really want?" Devimon decided to get straight to the point. 

"How about if you work for me alongside my Chaos Generals to finish off the Digidestined?"

Devimon scowled. "No, I've said this once to a fellow Mega digimon and I'm going to repeat this again. I work solo. Besides, I only have one particular Digidestined and digimon in mind."

"Do they happen to be the Digidestined of Hope, T.K. and his partner Patamon?"

"What do you know about them?"

"Only that they haven't acquire the ability to fuse together. At least not yet."

"That's good news. And how about the DNA digivolution?"

"Seems like they still have the ability."

"Very well." Devimon made sure to put a tone of finality in his statement. Besides, he didn't like the idea of having to face Shakkoumon should T.K. teamed up with his DNA partner. 

Chaos Specter caught the hint instantly. "Consider my offer. We'll see each other again, my friend." With that, the communication link was terminated, leaving the proud fallen angel to start reconsider the offer that Chaos Specter presented to him earlier. Devimon didn't like the idea of working under anyone, not even to a superior digimon such as Daemon. But if he played his cards correctly, having Chaos Specter as a superior, temporarily, might be advantageous to him. The human had the power to overcome the four most powerful digimons, and commanded three exceptional Mega digimons as well. Devimon shuddered to think that Chaos Specter could easily command his three generals to subdue him anytime he wanted, just like he did with the Harmonious Ones. If that ever happen, then his chances of getting revenge would be nullified. 

But, the powers that Daemon gave him weren't useless. As a Champion, Devimon had the power level rivaling any Ultimate digimon, thanks to his training and experience, and also to the fact that he did not experience reconfigurations. Digimon that was reborn after being deleted, such as Patamon, tend to weaken a little although if given time, the digimon would be able to make up for the loss of their powers. The fact that Angemon had successfully digivolved into Magna Angemon during the fight with Piedmon proved that.

'Unfortunately though, without its partner, a digimon belonged to a Digidestined couldn't go beyond Champion level. It would take an immense amount of external power source to energize them enough to become Ultimate. And T.K and Patamon never managed to fuse yet.' Devimon thought with grim satisfaction. 'But if he becomes Shakkoumon, and with that Imperialdramon on his side, my chance to fight him is nil. I need some digimons to back me up.'

Devimon made up his mind, and contacted Chaos Specter the next day. "It didn't take you long to make up your mind, my friend," Chaos Specter had said to him in an almost mocking tone.

"This will be temporary. I have no intention to become one of your slaves." Devimon spat back, but keep his tone cool. 

"I like your attitude. Your serv.. well, alliance, will be of use to me."

"I have a few requirements, though."

"Inferior digimon such as the likes of you have no right to make deals with me," Chaos Specter replied back coolly. "But, like I said earlier, I like your attitude. No digimon have the nerve to be so forward like that. I'm listening."

"I need some back-ups."

Chaos Specter chortled. "I would send my generals, but I doubt that they want to work with you."

"Just some digi-eggs will do just fine."

"You can easily steal some from the Primary Village."

"I don't want to cause uproar by appearing in front of that Elecmon."

"Why bother when that fortress of yours can easily be seen by anyone?"

"It's magically cloaked. But how do you know about the fortress?"

"The computers on my ship can detect anything even if it's magically cloaked, as you said. What do you plan to do with the digi-eggs?"

"For them to become my very own servants."

"Evil... I like that. Very well then." Chaos Specter terminated the communication, and six digi-eggs appeared in front of Devimon.

Devimon smiled indignantly to himself. "Now let's see whether I can work on Daemon's ability to digivolve these digi-eggs." He closed his eyes and spread his wings and hands wide. Black aura began to glimmer around him as Devimon called fourth the power Daemon had given him earlier. From his wings came six black energy beams entering the digi-eggs, and Devimon instantly felt the bond between him and the future digimons that would hatch from the eggs. However, Devimon didn't really manage in perfecting this ability, thus he knew that the procedure would drain a lot of his powers, and he would need to take a couple of days to recuperate.

The digi-eggs hatched instantly and with Devimon's powers and Devimon didn't even bother to use his digital DNAs as he would use whatever digimons he had in his disposal for his own evil purposes. Granted, Chaos Specter would have given him suitable digi-eggs to fit his needs. Six forms began to take place, and Devimon was awed when six Champion and Armor digimons materialized in front of him. He was expecting Rookies to begin with, but his powers must had elevated beyond normal Champion digimons. 

The first digimon that caught his attention was an exact replica of him, the only different that the digimon was fully white in color, and had a chilling aura surrounding him. He was Ice Devimon, an icy version of Devimon himself.

Next was a digimon whom Devimon had never seen before. He looked a lot like Wizardmon, only that his garbs were crimson instead of purple. He had a sly expression plastered on his face. The digimon was known as Flame Wizardmon.

Standing beside Flame Wizardmon was a tall and thin blue humanoid dragon-like digimon with two wooden swords was an Armor digimon known as Yashamon, whom Devimon had never seen before as well. He looked like a digimon whom Veemon would digivolve into, so Devimon concluded that Yashamon must be one of Veemon's possible digivolutionary level.

The fourth digimon was shorter than Yashamon, whom Devimon recognized only too well as Musyamon. Next was another short purple ninja-like digimon whom Devimon realized must be a viral version of the data type Ninjamon. Finally, Devimon set eyes on a dragon version of himself, whom he would have admired if it wasn't for the fact that the digimon was also somehow very stupid. Hopefully, this one would be an exception. Thus, Devimon welcomed Devidramon into his team. 

**************************************************

"The Digimon Analyzer upgrade is almost completed, Gennai."

"Good. This will prove valuable for the Digidestined as they will be able to assess their enemies' power level before battling them. They will be able to plan the strategy to defeat the enemy easily and quickly."

The conversation was between Gennai and Piximon inside Asuka Laboratory. They were working on to upgrade the Digimon Analyzer and incorporate the digimon database into the new Diginizers. They felt that with this knowledge, the Digidestined can plan on winning the battle much more easily than before, where they would blindly attack an enemy using large amount of power unnecessarily.

"Besides, this upgrade will also eliminate those long and boring explanations about a particular digimon. Instead, all the necessary details of a digimon will be presented in point form, with extra information being told after the details," Piximon noted happily. He waved his magical staff into the air. "There! Computer, analyze Piximon now."

The main computer inside the lab made a soft humming sound, and then a digitized voice of Gennai echoed all over the lab.

----------------- DIGIMON ANALYZER ------------------  
Name : Piximon  
Attribute : Data  
Level : Ultimate  
  
Attacks : Pit Bomb, Magical Staff  
Power Level : 56  
  
Extra Info : Piximon is the well-known digimon trainer of the Digital World.

"There, short and sweet," Piximon noted with satisfaction.

"What's all this announcement of you, Piximon?" a gruff yet friendly voice called out above them. It came from the training gym on the first floor which was also the top floor. Leomon came out from the gym, his hand was holding a small white towel which the lion digimon used to wipe off the sweat trickling on his face and body. Obviously, he had been training in the gym.

Piximon grinned. "Computer, analyze Leomon."

----------------- DIGIMON ANALYZER ------------------  
Name : Leomon  
Attribute : Vaccine  
Level : Champion  
  
Attacks : Fist of the Beast King, Beast King Sword  
Power Level : 47  
  
Extra Info : This beast warrior is the protector of the weak.

"I'm flattered," Leomon replied with a grin as he walked down the metallic staircases. 

"Begin transferring data to the Diginizers now. Activation code DIGI909," Gennai commanded.

"Acknowledged. Transferring data now."

**************************************************

Devimon's return remained unnoticed for almost one week after his arrival. This gave him enough time to replenish his powers, which was drained when he digivolved the digi-eggs Chaos Specter had given him. The stealth cloak he had magically conjured up hid all of them from being detected by anyone or anything. Somehow, no digimons strayed as far as the fortress was, as Devimon's legend was still quite popular amongst the digimons of the island, and no one had the nerve to venture there. The Bakemons of the island had a part of igniting this fear, they constantly spread the news that the devil was back, and caused unnecessary fears among the less-experienced digimons. However, some of the digimons who lived through the time of Devimon's reign, such as Meramon, Frigimon and Unimon helped out to ease the rumors by warning the Bakemons not to spread gossip again.

Little that they knew that all these times, the Bakemons were speaking the truth. Well, almost, as the Bakemons themselves had no idea of Devimon's return. 

"The time has begun," Devimon started and looked directly at his six minions. All six of them - Flame Wizardmon, Ice Devimon, Musyamon, Ninjamon, Yashamon and Devidramon were listening and looking at him attentively. "Spread out all over the File Island and declare my return. Kill any digimon in sight."

"Yes, master Devimon..." all of them chorused in obedience and moved out from the fortress. Devimon nodded in approval and retreat to his dark chamber to observe his minions, using the viewing orb. 

Ice Devimon, the leader of Devimon's henchmen, had the uncanny ability of detecting the position of any digimon within a close proximity towards him. Instantly, he managed to get all the locations of the digimons of the island, and spread his forces.

"Devidramon will attack the Primary Village below. I detect seven Rookie digimons and around thirty-five In-Training and Baby digimons which won't be a threat to him. He can do this on his own," Ice Devimon laid out his plan. Devidramon grunted slightly in agreement and flew down the Infinity Mountain. "Next up is a Champion digimon inside those woods. The readings show that the digimon was a Virus type, and currently is alone. Power level is... 48." Ice Devimon pointed towards the thick forests located south from the Infinity Mountain. 

"I'll do it," Flame Wizardmon smirked and flew off from the group. 

Ice Devimon's eyes turned a deeper shade of red, and he turned facing a small clearing inside the eastern part of the woods. "I sense a group of Bakemons over there. Perhaps one of us should go to them, I believe they are the ones who are spreading the rumor of our master's return for the last few years. Master Devimon said that he did not appreciate their effort as it put his safety over the last one week in great jeopardy. Thus, he wants them destroyed. Who's up for this task?"

"Allow me," Yashamon brandished his wooden swords for a while before running down the mountain with great speed towards the told area. He couldn't fly there like Devidramon and Flame Wizardmon had done earlier, but his amazing speed easily made up for the inability.

"Okay, next stop is the Mihirashi Mountain," Ice Devimon said and faced west, where a tall inactive volcano stood. "I received a reading from the mountain. One Champion digimon's there... should be a Meramon, Vaccine type and power level 43. And there's a Yokomon village down there. I think Musyamon is up for this job."

Musyamon nodded and left without a word, leaving only Ninjamon and the ice devil.

"Now, what should we do with you?" Ice Devimon questioned as he looked down to the petite Ninjamon.

"I don't know. Will you hurry up already and give me a task to be done?"

Ice Devimon scanned the area on the island where a thick forest was situated. "Ah... another unexpecting Champion digimon waiting for lunch to be served. Let's see... Vaccine, 42. Ninjamon, would you be so kind to assist him?"

"I guess, although I have to say that I hated the way you said that. Bye!" Ninjamon immediately vanished, ninja-style, before Ice Devimon could claw him to pieces. Ice Devimon didn't even bother though, rather he began to set his sight on the snowy region of the File Island. "Champion, vaccine, 43 straight ahead. Well, I guess it's only me then." Ice Devimon spread his glistening crystal-like white wings and set off towards the northern part of the island where there was snow.

**************************************************

A fearsome green ogre digimon was walking alone inside a thick forest, completely ignorant of a threat that was coming his way. He was enjoying the quietness of the forest as he sat down beneath a large tree. The sunlight was mostly blocked by the canopies formed by the trees which grew close together, leaving only some small streaks of the light to pass through the leaves. The air was cool inside the forest, which was one of the main reasons that the ogre digimon liked to spend his time there, besides the quietness of the forest provided. He never liked the company of other digimons, which was why he chose to seclude himself from other digimons. 

Ogremon placed down his club and grunted as he inspected a small cut on his right arm. It was the result of the battle with one wild Monochromon and a Tyrannomon. For the last four years, he had been living on the File Island all the time. He had battled numerous wild digimons that caused trouble for weaker digimons, unwittingly in the same time, keeping the peacefulness of the island. Ogremon never really wanted to do that in the first place, but with the real protector of the island long gone Ogremon felt that he owed Leomon the favor. Two years after the defeat of Apocalymon, Elecmon informed him that Leomon had already been reconfigured, and was then a small, helpless Baby digimon. Seeing that his rival was reborn, Ogremon's spirit lifted and he began to take his job of protecting the island seriously. His motive? To become stronger than Leomon as the lion had already attained his Mega form before he was killed by Metal Etemon.

However, the fact that he had never digivolved even to Ultimate really bothered him. Elecmon, the only digimon on the island whom he remained close and the only digimon who knew of his whereabouts, told him recently that Leomon too never managed to regain his Mega form as his ability to Warp-digivolve came from the constant exposure of the digivices. They were on par in terms of strength, Ogremon being better slightly as he never got reconfigured.

Using a small herb plant which Ogremon usually used to treat small cuts, he compressed it on the wounded arm and applied some saliva on it as well. It was from his experience that the herb and the enzyme from his saliva can react with each other to cure his wound. Not all digimon had this ability, and in Ogremon's case, this technique apply only to himself. It won't work on other digimon.

"Two more digimons gone down the drain," Ogremon mused to himself as he treated the cut, remembering how the Monochromon and the Tyrannomon had lost to him. A Monochromon was attacking a small village near a waterfall, which was where Gomamon, the partner of a Digidestined, stayed with a group of Bukamons. Without Joe, Gomamon couldn't digivolve and Ogremon decided to lend a helping hand. The Tyrannomon, coincidentally, was attacking Palmon and Biyomon. Although they disapproved of him killing the wild digimon, they had been grateful of him, and deep in his heart, Ogremon was glad that he had taken Leomon's job.

"And Leomon has to stay at Asuka Lab to accompany that digi-human..." Ogremon muttered. "Less practice for him, which is better for me... someday I'll surpass him." Ogremon was ignorant of the fact that he was indeed, stronger than Leomon.

Suddenly, dark fog suddenly materialized inside the forest. The mist exuded some unnatural chills, and Ogremon's battle instinct instantly alerted him that something was wrong. Immediately, he got up from where he was standing, his club grasped securely on his uninjured arm. His wild blue eyes scanned his surroundings like a hawk stalking its prey, and from the corner of his eyes he could make out three small bluish-white flames coming towards him. A shadow of a humanoid digimon began to take form from the thick fog. The digimon approaching him was shorter than him, but Ogremon could detect a strange aura from the digimon. It felt strange, evil, and yet, familiar.

"Who's there?!" Ogremon called out. "Show yourself!"

The digimon approaching him cackled in laughter as a reply. This annoyed Ogremon as he began to take a fighting stance. Whoever the digimon was, he was definitely up to no good. The laughter had implied that the digimon was a male. Not that Ogremon would go soft if the digimon was a female, he had battled some she-digimons in the past. 

"My, my, Ogremon. You sure seem so full of yourself," the digimon replied. From the eerie flickers of the blue-white flames around the digimon, Ogremon could make out the digimon's features. Several distinctive features on this digimon were similar to that of a Wizardmon, but the only Wizardmon Ogremon had ever heard of was currently at the Zephyr Tower of the Blue Dragon Island, protecting the Seiryuu sector in Azulongmon's absence. 

"Who in the digital world, are you?" Ogremon growled, and added, "And what do you want?"

The reply came in the form of a snicker which annoyed Ogremon. "I am Flame Wizardmon. One of Master Devimon's followers."

"Not another of that Bakemon hoax!" 

"Foolish digimon, this is no hoax! I speak no lies, and I do work for Master Devimon unlike some digimon who'd betrayed him!"

Ogremon's blood turned cold when hearing what Flame Wizardmon just mentioned. "Devimon, you say?" he asked, trying to keep his cool, but unfortunately his attempt had barely worked as he could feel sweats trickling down his face, forehead, temples and body. His heart thumped quicker than normal, and Ogremon knew that somehow, Flame Wizardmon was telling the truth.

"I see that you're scared already..." Flame Wizardmon noted in satisfaction. "Good! Be afraid!" Flame Wizardmon raised his right hand which was holding a small red staff while extending his left hand, and chanted some incantations. "Magic Ignition!" Flame Wizardmon yelled, and instantly, the three magical blue-white flames shot out towards Ogremon.

Ogremon readied his bone club, and swished the flames aside. "Child's play!"

"Oh yeah? Well let's see whether you can handle this! Fire Cloud!" This time around, Flame Wizardmon used his staff to fire several rays of blue-white firebolts. With great agility Ogremon successfully evaded all of the attacks, and snickered triumphantly. 

"Hah! You missed, again!" Ogremon taunted. 

"Don't count on it, fool!" the wizard yelled back and narrowed his eyes. The firebolts which zapped pass Ogremon made a 180'' turn and shot towards Ogremon from behind. Unfortunately, Ogremon didn't see this coming, and was hit severely. However, with his immense strength Ogremon managed to retain his standing posture. He glared at Flame Wizardmon angrily, while the wizard laughed of his success. His bare back, which a portion of it was covered by his white hair, was scorched by the fire beams. His hair was burnt black, and there was a burning aroma exuded from Ogremon. Ogremon winced as the cut he had attained earlier, which was not fully healed, was scorched with Flame Wizardmon's attack as well. He growled fiercely, and charged towards the wizard digimon with unrivalled speed. 

Flame Wizardmon could barely see Ogremon running when suddenly... "Pummel Whack!" he was pummeled hard on the head by Ogremon's bone club. The brute strength used by Ogremon was enough to send Flame Wizardmon flying, knocking him against a tree. "What do you say now?" Ogremon asked smugly, but he wasn't going to let the temporary victory went into his head. Nope, he learnt a lot of lessons never to do that. So, he advanced towards the fallen wizard, preparing to pummel him again. 

Seeing danger, Flame Wizardmon quickly leapt back to his feet, his eyes flashing dangerously. "Not bad, for a stupid digimon such as the likes of you," he said coolly. "A fine addition to supply powers for Master Devimon." With that, Flame Wizardmon closed his eyes and chanted. The chants were at first slow and faint, but steadily grew faster and louder causing Ogremon to stop advancing towards him. Finally, the chants echoed all around Ogremon causing his vision to blur slightly. Ogremon began to see multiple images of Flame Wizardmon, and knowing that it was a trick played by the wizard Ogremon shook his head several times. However, as he did this his condition only became worse as he began to feel sleepy. His eyes became heavy, and no matter how Ogremon struggled to keep himself awake, his eyes didn't seem to want to obey him. Before he completely blacked out, Ogremon could make out something round and black began to form on Flame Wizardmon's hands. Something which looked like a gear. 

************************************************** 

"Well done, minions. You've served me well." Devimon remarked after seeing his six followers brought him a few digimons. Flame Wizardmon brought Ogremon, who was one of his meanest servants back during his era on the File Island. Ogremon was mean by nature, and the fact that he was infected with a Black Gear only did well to elevate his wild behavior. Ice Devimon had captured Frigimon initially, but he related that during their battle, a Mojyamon came to help out as well, and Ice Devimon decided to capture both of them. Musyamon was followed by the Meramon who guarded Mihirashi Mountain, Devidramon had brought Elecmon. Yashamon, while originally assigned to destroy the Bakemons, had obviously decided to bring a few Bakemons along with Unimon.

Devimon drew his hands forward, his claws open wide. He began to chant in a strange language. His voice, slightly raspy but retained its dark tone, caused echo all over the dark fortress. A gust of wind blew from his claws as he began his ritual of absorbing the captured digimons' powers. Devimon needed the powers to make him stronger, as well as gaining the ability to learn of any trademark attack the victim digimon possessed. This also increased his power level and experience, and made him an even more powerful opponent than any average Ultimate digimon could dream of accomplishing.

Prior to his return, Devimon had earlier created a number of similar Black Gears such like the ones he'd been using to control strong digimons of the island. Channeling the victim digimon's power into the Black Gear, Devimon felt his own power increased while the victim digimons became weaker. They would need some time to regain their powers back.

Devimon noticed that his most powerful ex-servant didn't appear amongst the small number of victims brought by his minions. "Where is Leomon?"

"He's not on this island, master," Flame Wizardmon answered. "We have no news of where he is now."

Devimon frowned slightly. "That's too bad, he was the most powerful of them all. I thought he would be here after being reconfigured."

"Maybe one of them knows about him?" Ice Devimon suggested.

"Never mind him, the digimons you've brought to me are good enough. Using their powers, I can easily crush that blonde and his guardian angel for good. All of you..." Devimon eyed his six minions one by one, his eyes glowing crimson. His mere stare caused the six of them to cower slightly. However, Devimon's mouth broke into a slight smile as he continued, "... shall be rewarded for a job well done. But first, I'll make my presence known to those kids so that they'll come over here."

"What do you want us to do, master?" Flame Wizardmon inquired. 

"For now, nothing. You all may rest before you have your rewards later. When the Digidestined arrive on the island, all of you are in charge for the welcoming committee. Make their presence... well, worthwhile, but leave T.K. and Patamon to me. As for the others, you may do as you see fit because I've decided NOT to let that so-called digital world conqueror to have any fun. But be careful of the girl with a Gatomon, they can fuse together to a powerful Angewomon. Separate them from their DNA-digivolve partners." Devimon conjured up the images of the Digidestined and their digimons on his orb, which was magically enlarged so that all of them could see clearly. Devimon then explained about the DNA-digivolution, and the new Trans-digivolution. 

"That Imperialdramon seems to be exceptionally powerful," Ice Devimon noted after seeing how Paildramon Mega-digivolved into Imperialdramon.

"As long as you separate the boy with the goggles and the former Digimon Emperor," Devimon showed the faces of Davis and Ken. " You don't have anything to worry about. The same goes for the blonde and his young friend..." the images of T.K. and Cody were shown next. "... and the two girls. But like I said before, be wary of the brunette."

"As you wish, master." All of them chorused together before retreating themselves into their private chambers.

Devimon walked out from his fortress and watched the surroundings of the File Island. He raised both hands towards the clear sky and summoned his powers. The sky began to take an eerie shade of grey as thick clouds began to form themselves. The clouds were purple, and bolts of electricity shot out from the skies. Thunders rumbled all over the island as the clouds hovered all over, blocking all forms of lights from entering, leaving the island in complete darkness. 

**************************************************   
  
Everything around him was darkness as T.K. walked blindly, not being able to see anything else. He was alone, and wondered how on Earth he managed to be there at the first place. The last thing he remembered was being in his bedroom, getting to sleep. He remembered seeing the sun beginning to set on the horizons as he retired to bed, casting its final sunlight towards the sky before the moon took over. The sky had been red, pink and with some blackish shadows, as T.K. could see so well from his open bedroom window. His partner Patamon had jumped onto the bed and snuggled on the large fluffy pillow which both of them shared together. T.K. could recall lying on the bed when suddenly everything around him getting darker, suffocating all the remaining lights inside his dark bedroom. His surroundings became black and deathly silent.

"Where am I?" T.K. thought out loud, half-wondering and half-scared at the same time. Okay, forget about the scared part. T.K. was not scared of the dark, he'd been able to sleep alone in the dark by himself ever since he was five. Since his mother took him away from his father and Matt. T.K. shuddered at the thought. Now was not the time to think about that, T.K. reprimanded himself. He looked around him and it seemed to make no difference as everywhere around him, in every possible direction, was nothing but blackness. 

And then there was the silence. T.K. hated the unnerving quietness around him. It caused him to hear some annoying ringing sound in his ear. Right then and there, T.K. wished he could at least hear Patamon's rhythmic snores to be assured that he was not alone. Fat chance. He was on his own. 

Suddenly, a glint of something white, small and sparkling from afar caught T.K.'s eyes. Relieved, he walked towards the source of the white light, which then became two twinkling white lights as he grew nearer. However, he began to slow down as he approached the two small lights. They looked like they belonged to a pair of eyes. Adjusting to the shining lights, T.K. could make out a tall, lean figure walking towards him. Something large was hanging on his back, and T.K. squint his eyes in order to see clearer. 'Wings...' he thought. 'Big, tattered wings.' 

The figure was standing silently a few feet from T.K. Right then, most of its features became visible, and T.K. noted the shadows of its hands, which he saw was unnaturally longer than any man. 'The palms seem abnormally big...' T.K. continued to assess the figure before he realized something. 'Those aren't palms... they.. they're claws!" A horrible realization hit him suddenly, and T.K. cocked his head up to get a closer look at its face. To his horror he could make out the shadows of a familiar face, its head had horns protruding from each of its side of the head. 

"You!" T.K. finally realized who he was facing. However, how could it be? He was destroyed long time ago... how could he be here? No way! He refused to believe it, but in the same he was shaking with fear. He felt the fine hairs on his hands and back of the neck stood up as sweat trickled down his back, forehead, neck and body. Both his knees were shaking. In the darkness, he suddenly felt something clutched his chest, clawing its sharp nails deep inside his flesh. Unable to bear the pain, T.K. let out a piercing scream. 

_"NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!"_

************************************************** 

From the top of Zephyr Tower of the Blue Dragon Island, Wizardmon noticed the strange phenomenon occurring on the File Island. He sensed an evil presence on the island, a digimon with unholy powers who was trying to envelope the island into darkness.

"What could it be?" Wizardmon wondered to himself. "I don't think Chaos Specter is able to do such a thing to the File Island. No, this must be the work of a digimon." He shuddered slightly as he remembered the times when he worked under Myotismon. "Myotismon? But he was destroyed by the Digidestined six months ago... there's no way he could return." Wizardmon remembered how Myotismon covered the town of Odaiba with strange fogs. The phenomenon he was seeing happening on the File Island however, was worse. 

"A digimon even more powerful than Myotismon?" he asked himself out loud. "I have to alert Gennai and the Digidestined at once."

**_to be continued..._**


	9. Devimon Strikes Back II

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon Adventures or Digimon 02.

Note : This chapter contains a lot of Digimon Analyzer scenes prior to its introduction. 

** VENGEANCE  
  
Chapter 08 - Devimon Strikes Back, Part II**

** by Alforce Zero**

"I have to alert Gennai and the Digidestined at once!" Wizardmon decided, and walked down the Zephyr Tower's spiraling stairs quickly. With him he held his sunflower staff which stored the powers from Azulongmon's digi-core to make him digivolve. He emerged from the tower's entrance and met the two centaur guardians of the tower, Centarumon and Sagittarimon.

"There seems to be..." Sagittarimon began, but Wizardmon quickly cut him off.

"I know. Lead me to the communication center now. I need to contact Gennai at Asuka Laboratory."

"Hop on then. I'll get you there in a minute or less." Wizardmon leapt on Sagittarimon's sturdy back as the saggitarius galloped his way towards the communication center, which was a laboratory located somewhere inside Seiryuu City. A week had passed since Chaos Specter's attack on the island, and while a small part of the mountain city was partially destroyed from the attack, most of them were gradually restored. This was done using both magic and manpower, and Wizardmon played a huge role in this. As Mystimon, he managed to use his magical powers to slowly regenerate Seiryuu City part by part. How this was done, he himself could not explain. Only that he had to thank Azulongmon for entrusting him with a portion of his godly powers, which he had put on good use.

True to his words, Sagittarimon managed to take him to his destination within the promised amount of time, with Centarumon racing behind him. They had to evade a few digimons who was strolling around the city, and even nearly knocked on some poor Rookies, but no harm was done. Everyone seemed to try their best to get out of their way, thus making their trip to Seiryuu Laboratory a lot easier.

Seiryuu Lab didn't have the temple-modern lab crossover look like Asuka Lab. It looked like a lab alright, but there was a medieval look that came with it. Instead of white in color like Asuka, Seiryuu Lab was blue mostly, with gray and red metals and lines thrown in good measures. It was isolated from the other buildings, and a small garden was kept in front of the lab. Light blue marble stairs were seen leading up to the entrance, and on every side of the stairs was a Knightmon. Seems like Knightmons were the guards of the labs. A digimon that greatly resembled Wizardmon, but clad in white garment was seen waiting outside the lab, holding a staff which had a blue diamond attached on its upper end. The blue and white colorings of his garments matched the lab instantly, as he was the one who run the lab, like Piximon did on Asuka's.

"Hello, all. What seems to be the problem?" the digimon greeted them gingerly. He had a cheerful, child-like tone in his voice, which totally contrasted with his icy appearances. 

"Sorcerimon, contact Asuka now. There ---" Wizardmon was interrupted when thunder rumbled above them. All of them looked up and saw grayish-purple thick clouds were hovering above them. "What the --" he muttered and quickly raced inside the lab. The centaurs, being large digimons, stayed outside with the Knightmons. Sorcerimon was dumbfounded, but followed him inside.

"Will you explain to me first what is going on?" he demanded as Wizardmon stood in front of a large monitor. The insides of Seiryuu Lab greatly resembled Asuka in a lot of ways. Two exceptions though, it was only a one-storey lab without any upper floor or basement, and it was mostly in blue as well. 

"I don't know for sure, but those clouds you are seeing now are the reasons. Now will you please contact Gennai for me?"

"Okay, okay, you don't have to ask twice." Sorcerimon waved his staff a little and the computer consoles began to light up and hummed some strange computer sounds. The monitor buzzed a little, and then Gennai's face appeared on the screen.

"Gennai, there seems to be a problem here..."

************************************************** 

At about the same time, the Velvet Claw was cruising its way inside the purple clouds Devimon conjured up away from the Eastern region. The clouds seemed to be enveloping nearly all parts of the Eastern sector, but were mainly concentrated above File Island and the islands around it. 

Chaos Specter was seen sitting on his throne, with his pet Black Gatomon now completely awake. The black cat was following her master's gaze towards the large viewing screen inside the ship's bridge, also known as the throne room. Behind him were the four tube prisons of the Harmonious Ones and below the fifty steps of stairs stood Chaos WarGreymon and Chaos Piedmon. Chaos Seadramon was curling somewhere beside the left side of the throne, on Chaos Piedmon's side. All of them were witnessing Devimon's display of powers, covering nearly all East sector belonged to Azulongmon, with dark clouds of his. Nearly all the sector was covered in darkness.

"Such strong powers, and he's only a Champion," Chaos Specter muttered in amazement. "It's a shame he's not working for me. Not yet, at least." He snickered evilly, causing his pet digimon to look up to his face with some slight annoyance. 

"I'm not impressed." Black Gatomon quipped with a tone of jealousy. She hissed slightly and turned away from the screen, obviously showing her distaste of Devimon. In truth, and Chaos Specter knew it, was that the little Champion was jealous of anyone who managed to have his attention other than her. 

Chaos Specter chuckled slightly and patted Black Gatomon's soft, jet-black furred back. "Doesn't mean I love you any less, Catrina." Clearly, Chaos Specter had named his pet Catrina, a very humanly name for a digimon. 

"If you just let me fight along with them, I can be that strong as well!" she demanded, and waved her paw towards the three Chaos Generals. "I can digivolve to Ultimate, mind you. Although I still can't master it." Catrina concluded it rather sheepishly; if it weren't for her black fur it would be extremely obvious that she was blushing.

Chaos Specter nodded and fixed his emerald eyes onto Catrina's gold-yellow ones. "Then you will train more until you can retain your Ultimate form for more than five minutes. If you're in a battle, I don't think it's a good idea for you to de-digivolve all of a sudden. Your enemies can easily use this to their advantage." 

"But I wanna have some fun!" Catrina whined, and began to pout. It was evident that she was pampered greatly by the dark conqueror.

Unfortunately for her, Chaos Specter was undaunted. "No, and that's final. And don't you dare pout, because I don't want you to get hurt." Catrina sulked and buried her face under her paws, faking a couple of soft sobs. Chaos Specter sighed, knowing that while it looked real Catrina was only pretending. He knew just the thing to say to her however. "But if you promise to be a good girl and practice harder, I promise you'll get to blow up a digimon city someday on your own."

Catrina's ears perked up and she lifted her face instantly. "Really?" 

"I promise." Chaos Specter smiled as Catrina leapt towards his face and hugged his neck. "I'll go train now!" she announced and ran all the way down the stairs, nearly knocking over Chaos WarGreymon. The Mega digimon grunted in annoyance as Catrina called out, "Sorry boy!" as the other two Chaos Generals snickered. The cat ran out from the throne room through a large door-less entrance and disappeared out of sight, and Chaos Specter shook his head slowly in mild dismay. 

****

Chaos Specter and Catrina's history was rather interesting. It began when he led his Chaos Generals, whom were then only in their Champion forms of Greymon, Devidramon and Seadramon, on an attack to one of the ten alternate dimensions of the digital world. (A/N: Did I mention this before? Oh well...) Chaos Specter had conquered four of the dimensions; all of them were rather easy-to-conquer worlds as they were no Digidestined or any alternate protectors of some sort. Not that easy though, as he spent quite a time to conquer each because while there were no Harmonious Ones or Digidestined, each digital world had some Mega digimons which defended their worlds bravely. 

One of the remaining unconquered worlds was where he was now, and already he was facing a hard time conquering it. History wise, Chaos Specter had only the faintest idea, but a prophecy he had unearthed in one of the other dimensions foretold about it, and that interested him enough to pursue it as well. 

The other five... one of them was even more secure than the current digital world where he was in, as it had the history of human tempering with it. He had learnt that on that particular dimension, one group of humans had caused the creation of digimons there. Digimons there were exceptionally strong and also were given the ability which none other digimons possessed. It was the power to absorb data from any other digimons. In a lot of ways however, this digital world was similar to the digital world where he currently was. One, it had the same four Mega digimons guarding it, dubbed the Digimon Sovereigns. Two, there was also a group of human children who protected the world as well as being partnered to digimons. 

Another was guarded by three Mega angel digimons instead of the four Harmonious Ones or Digimon Sovereigns. This world was definitely off-limits even to him, as it was sealed from any intrusion from any other worlds - protecting both it and its human world counterpart. Chaos Specter knew no other facts of this world.

The third was the infamous Dark Ocean, where all evil digimons were reformatted. However, it seemed to be linked only with the digital world he currently resided in. The fourth dimension was none other than the World of Dreams, which played half the role in creating the digital worlds and digimons. These two worlds were close to impossible to conquer.

The fifth and final dimension was perhaps the most mysterious of all. Chaos Specter had no means of even tracking the dimension, let alone accessing it. 

Chaos Specter found Catrina, in her digi-egg form, in one of the worlds where he had conquered. His three servants had destroyed the Primary Village there, deleting all the digi-eggs in sight as well as the digimons who guarded the digi-eggs. One digi-egg however, survived the destruction, being buried underground thus escaping the flames from Greymon and Devidramon, and the ice blast from Seadramon. It hatched into a Snow Botamon, and was almost killed as well if not for the conqueror himself to stop them to take a closer look on the digimon whom had survived. Chaos Specter decided to take her in, making her his pet, and gave her the name Catrina.

Catrina, as a Snow Botamon, grew up under Chaos Specter's care, into a healthy Nyaromon within a month. She had no recollection of what had happened to her in the past, only knowing that Chaos Specter had saved her from total destruction of her home world. Seeing Chaos Specter as her protector, she had grown rather attached to him. This was helped by the fact that Chaos Specter had pampered her a lot. The dark conqueror grown to love and care for her as days passed by, like a father protecting a child. However, being around Chaos Specter for a long time caused Catrina to be affected by the power of darkness surrounding Chaos Specter. Thus, when the time came for her to digivolve to Rookie, she advanced to a viral version of Salamon which was grey in color instead of the usual cream-colored Vaccine type. Later she matured to a Black Gatomon and became Chaos Specter's pride and joy. 

As the other Chaos Generals digivolved to their final Mega levels they were gifted with Chaos Specter's own powers, transforming them into the Chaos versions of the regular WarGreymon, Piedmon and Metal Seadramon. Catrina, as Black Gatomon, wasn't prepared to receive the powers as she was only a Champion, but somehow a portion of the power was successfully absorbed by her system, making her able to digivolve to her Ultimate level. But for not being prepared, Catrina didn't manage to handle her Ultimate form well enough for her to retain it. So she remained Champion and trained to allow nature took its place to make her digivolve naturally.

****

Chaos Piedmon looked up towards his master. "What do you suggest we do, master?"

"Do you want us to help him?" Chaos WarGreymon continued.

"But that Devimon is only a Champion! I don't think..."

"Quiet!" Chaos Specter roared and the three digimons shut up instantly. "Looks like we don't have to, for now. Those digi-eggs I gave him should be handy for him. I have other things in mind, though." He rotated the throne, facing the four Harmonious Ones. Azulongmon, Zhuqiaomon, Baihumon and Ebonwumon all glared at him with eyes flashing of pure hatred. Chaos Specter laughed seeing their state. 

"If only stares can hurt!" he taunted gleefully. "I believe there's a term for that. Staring daggers?" He snickered. "So, have you decided to tell me about this legendary power the prophecy speaks off? Or you still rather spend your time on another dimension?"

"In your dreams." Azulongmon muttered.

Zhuqiamon's eyes seemed to be erupting with fire. He hated humans, although he tolerated the Digidestined quite well. "Just you wait, human! When I escape this imprisonment, I shall have the pleasure of burning you to ashes!"

"I'll be waiting." Chaos Specter grinned, showing off a set of gleaming white teeth, which contrasted with his emerald eyes and jet black hair. "Besides, I have some alternative means now to unlock that power."

"What do you mean?" Baihumon demanded.

"Oh... it's just a theory, actually. But it might work, so I'll go for it. All of you can stay in imprisonment as long as you like. I'll just keep all of you here to avoid you from interfering with my plans mainly. Also, your powers shall be of great use to me in the future." 

"You can never take away our powers, wretch!!" Zhuqiaomon bellowed angrily. The great red sparrow digimon's anger was obvious by the aura glowing from his body. 

"The balance of the digital world will be distorted if you ever temper with our powers," Ebonwumon, who was silence all these while, spoke up. Or rather, one of his two heads decided to voice up their two minded opinions. The second head added, "Besides, even if you managed to have all of our powers, you can never handle them. They are too much for the likes of you!"

"We shall see," Chaos Specter simply replied. "For now, I'll leave you be. There's a plenty of time for me to have another wonderful conversation with the great Harmonious Ones later. My current interest now is to see whether this Devimon here has the potential of what I thought he might have. If it's true, than I shall not need your powers to have the prophesized powers." Chaos Specter turned away from the Harmonious Ones, facing his Chaos Generals again. Seeing this, all three of them became alert as they knew their master was about to assign them some tasks.

"Chaos Seadramon, take some digimons and wait for my order. After the Digidestined have set foot on the File Island, they'll be focusing their attention towards Devimon they'll forget about the other regions. That's when you will go and attack some northern part of the East sector."

"Got it." Chaos Seadramon acknowledged.

"Chaos Piedmon, you'll do the same but go south."

"All right."

Chaos Specter then looked towards Chaos WarGreymon. The digimon seemed to be in a grumpy mood nowadays, ever since his encounter with the Digidestined of Light. Chaos Specter wondered what could be troubling him, but decided to let Chaos WarGreymon handle it himself rather than interfering. 

"And as for Chaos WarGreymon, you will be assigned on a special task. I want you to go to the Kulon Mines at the North Region. Deep within the mines there is a shrine, and inside the shrine is a particular purple diamond-shaped crystal which I want you to retrieve it for me. The crystal holds a dangerous power within. There will be a lot of digimons guarding the shrine, but you'll be able to defeat them easily as you have surpassed many Megas in terms of power and strength. It should not be a problem to you to perform such a task."

"It won't." Chaos WarGreymon assured.

"I hope so. Now, we wait for the right time."

************************************************** 

The alert from Wizardmon instantly brought the Digidestined back to Asuka Lab. All of them contemplated on who was responsible for the current phenomenon on the digital world, and were shocked to see that the clouds enveloping the whole East sector.

"My opinion, Daemon's behind this!" Davis declared and clutched his fist, making punching moves into thin air.

"Yeah, he's the only villain we haven't destroyed yet," Cody supported. "Probably to avenge his defeat before."

"No, I don't think so Davis, Cody," Ken said slowly. "We banished him to the World of Darkness. While he is capable of opening digi-ports between worlds and dimensions, why would he wait for like six months before attacking again? He could have attacked us as soon as I...we banished him there last Christmas."

"Maybe he's bidding his time," Hawkmon suggested. "His fight with us must have tired him greatly."

"Yea, I think he's recuperating all this time, waiting for the right time to strike!" Armadillomon added his opinion.

"What really makes you feel that it's not Daemon, Ken?" Yolei inquired softly. 

Ken looked at Yolei. "I don't know, Yolei. Seriously, I don't have a clue. I just don't feel like it's him."

"Maybe he's right..." T.K., who was silent all the while, spoke up. "Maybe it's not Daemon. I think it's someone else..."

Davis crossed his arms and looked at T.K. with interest. "You do? Well let's hear it."

Kari raised an eyebrow. "Davis..."

"What?"

"Nothing. Never knew you would agree to T.K."

"Oh. Well, he has a clue, so I think we should hear it."

T.K. smiled slightly. "This may sound rather odd, but last night I have a nightmare. It's... something of the past actually, something I thought I could finally forget, that I could let go. But, after last night I've been thinking about it the whole time until we get here. I tried to convince myself that my nightmare was just a bad dream, but after seeing what's happening here ---"

Realization hit both Kari and Cody. "I think I know where you're getting at ---" Cody said.

T.K. looked mildly surprised. "Yea, I know you would. My brother told you about it."

"It can't be!" Kari said. "Tai told me that it took Angemon his life in order to destroy him!"

"I know," T.K. replied back. "But he's the only one who was... is capable of doing things like this. For instance, covering the digital world in complete darkness."

"Oh, no! He's back!" Cody exclaimed.

"Who's back?" Yolei asked.

"Devimon!" T.K. answered.

"Him?" Ken asked, his voice staggered a little. He remembered his times as the Digimon Emperor, when he was creating Kimeramon. He'd dived inside a whirlpool, and saw Devimon there. Seeing Devimon, Ken wanted to include his data inside Kimeramon, thus were born Kimeramon's hands with Devimon's data. "Is it the same Devimon we saw last time, Wormmon? When I wanted to create Kimeramon?"

Wormmon thought for a while. "I don't know. It could be, but then again maybe it was not the same Devimon. Like Kari said, Angemon destroyed him."

"He said, beware of the darkness..." Ken's voice trailed off as he felt his knees grew weak. "Is this what he meant?"

"Ken, don't," Yolei said and placed her hands on Ken's arms firmly. She was looking inside Ken's eyes. "It's. Not. Your. Fault."

"Even if it was the same Devimon, Sangamon destroyed Kimeramon remember?" Davis reminded them. "So how could it be Devimon?"

Ken smiled as Yolei helped him up. "Thanks, Yolei. I'm okay. Don't worry."

"We're back at square one." Gatomon concluded.

Gennai, who was watching the Digidestined and their partners brainstorming each other, finally decided that it was his turn to speak. So, he cleared his throat in an attempt to call on their attentions. It worked.

"I think the best way to find out is by going there yourselves."

"I second that," Leomon added. "In fact, I'm going with you. File Island is, in fact, my home."

"Okay then," Davis decided. "Then let's go!"

"Wait!" Piximon stopped them, and glared at Gennai. "Aren't you going to tell them about your recent upgrade on their Diginizers?"

"Oh yeah. I nearly forgot!" Gennai said, and blushed. He proceeded by explaining about the modifications he made on the Digi-Analyzers data stored inside their Diginizers, now complete with power level analyzing capabilities.

"Cool!" Davis exclaimed. "Let's try it out."

"Just hit the second red button on your Diginizers," Gennai guided. "And then aim the Diginizer towards the desired digimon."

The Digidestined did as instructed and heard Gennai's computerized voice telling the details about their partners.

**----------------- DIGIMON ANALYZER ------------------  
**Name : Veemon  
Attribute : Vaccine  
Level : Rookie  
  
Attacks : Vee Head Butt  
Power Level : 15  
Digivolve to : Ex Veemon  
------------------------------------------------------------------------  
**  
----------------- DIGIMON ANALYZER ------------------  
**Name : Wormmon  
Attribute : Virus  
Level : Rookie  
  
Attack : Sticky Net  
Power Level : 14  
Digivolve to : Stingmon  
------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
**----------------- DIGIMON ANALYZER ------------------  
**Name : Hawkmon  
Attribute : Data  
Level : Rookie  
  
Attack : Feather Strike  
Power Level : 14  
Digivolve to : Aquilamon  
------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
**----------------- DIGIMON ANALYZER ------------------  
**Name : Armadillomon  
Attribute : Vaccine  
Level : Rookie  
  
Attack : Diamond Shell  
Power Level : 14  
Digivolve to : Ankylomon  
------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
**----------------- DIGIMON ANALYZER ------------------  
**Name : Patamon  
Attribute : Data  
Level : Rookie  
  
Attack : Boom Bubble  
Power Level : 15  
Digivolve to : Angemon  
------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
**----------------- DIGIMON ANALYZER ------------------  
**Name : Gatomon  
Attribute : Vaccine  
Level : Champion  
  
Attacks : Lightning Claw, Cat's Eye Hypnotism  
Power Level : 22 (w/o Tail ring), 45 (with Tail ring)  
Digivolve to : Angewomon  
------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"Hah! You guys, don't ever mess with me!" Gatomon declared happily. "That's a pretty vast change for my power levels, between with and without my Tail ring," she noted as she inspected her Tail ring, which hung on her long striped tail. 

"There goes my chance to woo Gatomon for a date," Veemon sighed.

"You never learn do you?" Patamon asked with a slight grin.

"Well... as long as YOU don't stand a chance as well!" Veemon shot back, which earned a laugh for all of them. Patamon pouted and decided to sulk on T.K.'s head.

"Hang it there, buddy," T.K. calmed him.

"Whoa there, Veemon," Davis followed suit. It was quite known that Davis had the hots for Kari, but recently he seemed to be cooling down. 

Leomon however, looked stunned. "Hey, how come I don't have that 'Digivolve to' info? And where's the Extra Info?" 

"I don't know you can be that observant," Piximon replied. "The extra info is only for particular digimons, like you are once the defender of the File Island, while I am a digimon trainer. The Digivolve To info is only for digimons whom had managed to digivolve to its more advanced stage but didn't manage to keep it. The Digi-Analyzer analyzes all the data inside the digimons to determine whether they can, or cannot, digivolve."

"Nice features and all, but, can we get going now?" Yolei asked irritably. "There's trouble on File Island and, oh, don't mean to sound rude or unappreciative..."

"That's all right," Gennai cut in. "Yolei's right. See whether you can investigate whatever is happening on the island first."

"I'll be joining you as well," Leomon offered.

"Thanks. If there's any trouble I think we're gonna need all the help we can get," Davis said. "Okay guys, I think it's time to go, if there isn't any objection?" he looked around to see whether Gennai or Piximon wanted to explain any other information. "Leomon, hold on to someone." He then touched the third red button on his Diginizer, which functioned as a teleporter. Instantly, both he and Veemon were enveloped by dazzling blue lights, and disappeared from sight. They were teleported to the File Island. Ken, T.K, Kari, Yolei and Cody followed suit, with Leomon holding on to Ken's right hand. All of them changed into a series of black, green, pink, red and yellow lights, teleporting them away from Asuka Lab.

"Good luck, everyone," Gennai whispered. 

The teleporter mechanism incorporated by Gennai and Magna Angemon PM into the new Diginizers was able to teleport the bearer of the Diginizers and their digimons to various parts of the digital world in a matter of second. It was based heavily on the speed of Imperialdramon, the magic of Asuka Temple, and the technology of the digital world mainly. The two latter elements were the key of the creation of the Diginizers in the first place. Thus, the Diginizers were far more advanced than the old digivices and the D3s, and were still open for more improvements in future. The five red buttons on every Diginizer were created to execute their functions. The first button to execute digivolution, being it Digivolve, Armor Digivolve, DNA Digivolve, Warp Digivolve or Trans Digivolve; the second button to execute the Digi-Analyzer, the third one to teleport around the digital world (it hadn't been tested on the Real World yet) and also to open digi-port by command. The last two buttons were functionless for the time being, open to any improvements in future. (A/N - I'm writing this to explain the main functions of the Diginizers, because I don't know whether I've explained it in detail before or not. Also, it might help to refresh the memory for readers. )

The Digidestined, their partners, and Leomon were teleported on the shore of the File Island. T.K. recognized it as the place where the first battle between Greymon and Tuskmon took place on their early adventures. It was memorable as it was the first time Agumon digivolved to Greymon. The place now seemed deserted, not even Tuskmon was seen. The raging sea, due to the winds blowing fiercely from the strange clouds, sent violent waves towards the shore where they were currently at. 

"It looks like it'll be raining soon," Leomon noted as she observed the sky.

"So we better find some shelter," Gatomon added.

All of them walked into the forests and realized that it was hard to walk around since it was dark, the remaining sunlight which they received while at the beach were blocked by the canopy formed by the trees.

"Any lights?" Kari asked, rather jokingly. "No pun intended." All of them laughed, as they understood clearly what Kari actually meant. She was the Digidestined of Light.

Veemon tugged Davis's jacket. All of them were no longer wearing their Digidestined clothes like they used to, but the clothes they brought from their world. "As Raidramon, I can give some lights from my lightning-shaped horn."

"Oh yeah," Davis agreed. He struck a pose by raising his right hand, tilting the forearm to the left a little. The Diginizer of Courage, which was stored with the information from both the Digi-egg of Courage and the Digi-egg of Friendship, glowed. 

"Veemon, Armor-Digivolve to... Raidramon! The Storm of Friendship!"

Raidramon instantly lit up his horn. "You want lights, you got it!" The horn gave out bright yellowish-white light, enlightening their surrounding greatly. "Now we can walk!" 

"Lead the way," Hawkmon said.

They continued walking deeper into the forest with Raidramon's shining horn to guide them. Everyone became serious as they would soon face the culprit behind the strange phenomenon. The dark forest was deathly silent, not even the usual forest-based digimons such as Mushroomon or Floramon were seen in sight. Leomon contemplated on meeting his rival-turned-friend Ogremon, and that Ogremon would be able to help them as well. 

Suddenly, their surroundings became foggy. The lights from Raidramon's horn became dimmer, and the temperature seemed to drop a couple of degrees or more. The Digidestined felt a sudden chill, and the hairs on their necks shot up instantly. 

"Why are there fogs suddenly?" Ken wondered as he attempted to touch the fogs. "Strange, purple fogs."

"I don't like this," Cody muttered. "These fogs are giving me the creeps."

"You and me, Cody," Armadillomon quipped with a shudder. 

Yolei frowned as the fogs became thicker. "Ugh, it seems so evil!"

"Don't think about that, Yolei," Davis warned. "It..."

A shrill cackle interrupted Davis, followed by strange laughters coming from all sides. Some sounded maniacal, some were like mere gruff and some sounded taunting and haunting at the same time, but all of them shared the same quality. The laughter's were all pure evil.

"Who's there? Show yourselves!" Raidramon demanded, and he channeled more power to his horn, brightening their surroundings and clearing nearly all the fogs simultaneously. 

"Well, well, well..." a shrill voice, sounding like a schoolboy's, replied back. The voice originated about a hundred meter in front of Raidramon. This put the dragon digimon on alert. "What do we have here?"

"More power supplies," another voice which had an icy quality coming from somewhere near the first one, answered the first one. 

"The master will be pleased to have all these digimons!" yet another voice, a really annoying one coming from the trees, shouted.

The Digidestined stood closer to each other. "I don't like this," Davis said.

"I don't like any of these!" Yolei cried.

"The voices are everywhere!" Cody exclaimed.

"C'mon guys, make us digivolve now. We'll be able to fight them easily!" Hawkmon implored. 

The Digidestined began to see two shadows emerging from the fogs. T.K. felt like blood drained from his face as he recognized one of the shadows. The taller shadow seemed to look like... "Devimon!"

"Who, me?" the tall shadow stopped approaching them abruptly. As their eyes began to readjust with their surroundings, they were able to see more clearly. It was indeed Devimon, but instead of his all-black attire, this one was in white. "You must be mistaken, but I guess it's understandable. I am actually Ice Devimon!"

"Ice Devimon?" T.K. repeated weakly, dumbfounded, and pressed the second red button on his Diginizer. 

**----------------- DIGIMON ANALYZER ------------------  
**Name : Ice Devimon  
Attribute : Virus  
Level : Champion  
  
Attacks : Frost Claw, Zero Freeze  
Power Level : 55  
  
Extra Info : This icy version of Devimon is as cold-hearted as his dark counterpart.  
------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I don't believe this! His power level is much higher than any average Champion digimon!" Leomon exclaimed. Now, he was really worried. "All of you, be careful. His power is almost as powerful as an Ultimate digimon!"

T.K. raised his right hand. "Angemon can handle him, right Patamon?"

"Ready when you are, T.K.!"

**[Brave Heart plays in the background]**

"Patamon, Digivolve to... Angemon!" Instantly, the small winged guinea pig transformed into the holy warrior Angemon, who stood roughly seven-meter tall. Angemon struck a battle pose, preparing for battle. Pure white lights radiated from his body and wings, enlightening their whole surroundings.

"Fancy digivolution sequence, but still, it's useless as I will emerge victorious!" Ice Devimon declared.

"We'll see what the Digi-Analyzer has to say about that!" T.K. spat back.

**----------------- DIGIMON ANALYZER ------------------  
**Name : Angemon  
Attribute : Vaccine  
Level : Champion  
  
Attacks : Hand of Fate, Angel Rod  
Power Level : 48  
Digivolve to : Magna Angemon (Normal), Shakkoumon (DNA-Digivolution)  
------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Even your Digi-Analyzer agrees with me," Ice Devimon taunted.

T.K.'s face flushed with anger. "Still, you're going down!" 

Angemon flew towards Ice Devimon and the two of them took off to the skies to battle each other.

The second shadow emerged from the thickening fogs, revealing to be a wizard-like digimon. The Digidestined quickly used the Digi-Analyzer to check up the information of this new digimon.

**----------------- DIGIMON ANALYZER ------------------  
**Name : Flame Wizardmon  
Attribute : Virus  
Level : Armor  
  
Attacks : Fire Cloud, Magic Ignition  
Power Level : 58  
  
Extra Info : This wizard digimon is the Armor-digivolution form of Wormmon using the Digi-egg of Courage.  
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wormmon scowled after hearing this. "I can't believe I'd be like HIM! No way will I be using the Digi-egg of Courage!"

"I refuse to be related to this weak worm!" Flame Wizardmon shouted indignantly.

"That's it!" Wormmon yelled. "You ask for it!" He looked at Ken earnestly. "I'm facing him!"

"Uh.. sure, Wormmon," Ken replied, surprised to see him so angry.

"Wormmon, Digivolve to... Stingmon!" The cute and lovable Wormmon transformed into the fearsome Stingmon in a wave of green lights.

**----------------- DIGIMON ANALYZER ------------------  
**Name : Stingmon  
Attribute : Virus  
Level : Champion  
  
Attacks : Spiking Strike  
Power Level : 45  
Digivolve to : Paildramon (DNA-Digivolution)  
------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Weakling, you're no match for me!" Flame Wizardmon taunted gleefully after hearing the analyzer.

"So what he needs is a helping wing!" Yolei shot back, and Ken sweat-dropped. "What?" 

"I've.. never heard of that prose before."

"Oh..." Yolei blushed. "Ready, Hawkmon!"

"You bet! Hawkmon, Digivolve to... Aquilamon!" The little hawk transformed into a larger version of himself.

**----------------- DIGIMON ANALYZER ------------------  
**Name : Aquilamon  
Attribute : Data  
Level : Champion  
  
Attacks : Grand Horn, Blast Rings  
Power Level : 45  
Digivolve to : Silphymon (DNA-Digivolution)  
------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Stupid girl. Don't you know that Data digimons are weak against Virus! Even his power level is weak!" Flame Wizardmon yelled, and cackled again. 

"Ohh.. I hate him so much!" Yolei fumed with anger and attempted to claw Flame Wizardmon herself if it was not for Ken restraining her. Suddenly she realized that she was held close to Ken and blushed furiously, causing Ken to let go instantly and turned his attention to Flame Wizardmon. 

"Stingmon, Aquilamon, take the battle to the sky as well!" he ordered.

'And now he's ordering my digimon as well...' Yolei thought with a smile. Ken backed away a little, seeing hearts on Yolei's eyes.

A tall and lanky digimon with two sword-sticks jumped from the bushes just as a stout little digimon jumped from the trees above them. One of them they instantly recognized as Ninjamon, but its companion seemed new to them. 

**----------------- DIGIMON ANALYZER ------------------  
**Name : Ninjamon  
Attribute : Virus  
Level : Champion  
  
Attacks : Ninja Knife Throwing, Ninja Hopping  
Power Level : 50  
  
Extra Info : This is the Viral form of the usually Vaccine type Ninjamon.  
------------------------------------------------------------------------

**----------------- DIGIMON ANALYZER ------------------  
**Name : Yashamon  
Attribute : Vaccine  
Level : Armor  
  
Attacks : Gordian Knot, Puppet Master  
Power Level : 50  
  
Extra Info : This is Veemon's Armor form using the Digi-egg of Sincerity.  
------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I'm related to him?" Raidramon asked blankly. 

"He's a Vaccine type, and yet he's evil?" Davis followed suit.

"Fools!" Yashamon spat, and plunged towards Davis instantly. However he was blocked by Raidramon, who sent a Thunder blast attack towards his evil Armor counterpart. Yashamon was quick enough to evade by capturing Raidramon's Thunder blasts with his wooden swords, successfully avoiding himself from getting shocked.

"This doesn't look good. Raidramon you'd better change to Flamedramon or Ex Veemon, they'll stand a better chance to fight this freak," Davis instructed. Raidramon de-digivolved back to Veemon, and prepared for another digivolution.

"Veemon, Digivolve to... Ex Veemon!"

"Now that's more like it!" Davis cried. "Go, Ex Veemon!"

**----------------- DIGIMON ANALYZER ------------------  
**Name : Ex Veemon  
Attribute : Vaccine  
Level : Champion  
  
Attack : Vee Laser  
Power Level : 47  
Digivolve to : Paildramon (DNA-Digivolution)  
------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I'll help you, Davis!" Cody cried. "Armadillomon!"

"Always ready. Armadillomon, Digivolve to... Ankylomon!"

**----------------- DIGIMON ANALYZER ------------------  
**Name : Ankylomon  
Attribute : Vaccine  
Level : Champion  
  
Attack : Tail Hammer  
Power Level : 45  
Digivolve to : Shakkoumon (DNA-Digivolution)  
------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
While Ex Veemon and Ankylomon teamed up together to fight Yashamon, Ninjamon finds himself facing Gatomon and Leomon. The ninja digimon, being small was a match for Gatomon, but the larger Leomon was having a hard time coping with the two digimons. 

"Little kitty wants to play?" Ninjamon taunted as he jumped above Gatomon, attempting to grab her long tails to quickly end the battle. Unfortunately for him, Gatomon was smarter than he thought, and quickly lashed her tails on his face. The force from the attack staggered Ninjamon in mid-air, and Gatomon saw her chances to end the duel.

"You asked for it! Lightning Claw!" she slashed her powerful claws on Ninjamon, leaving four red scratch marks on him. 

"YAAAAAAAA!" Ninjamon cried in pain. "You'll pay for that! Ninja Knife Throwing!" The attack, which consisted of Ninjamon firing dozens of small knifes towards his opponent, sent Gatomon running to save her from getting slashed. One knife however stabbed her slightly on her right leg, which caused her to tumble on the grounds. Her situation was absolutely vulnerable to any attack, and Ninjamon wasn't going to waste his chance. 

Leomon, seeing her in danger, rushed forward to help her. He was however stopped in mid-way by a stocky digimon wearing a shogun attire. His expression fiendish, the new digimon thrust his large saber attempting to stab Leomon who was running, hoping that the lion lost control of his speed and skidded to his doom by the tip of his saber. Unfortunately he underestimated Leomon, because while the lion indeed had no time to revert his way as he was jumping in mid-air, he ...

"Fist of the Beast King!!" .. fired a powerful trademark attack of his towards the saber, deliberately pushing himself backwards. Leomon successfully landed on the ground and glared at the newcomer furiously. 

"Quick reflex," the newcomer noted. 

Leomon knew this digimon instantly. "Musyamon!"

Gatomon lied on the ground, unable to stand up and run anymore as Ninjamon attempted to fire off another Ninja Knife Throwing attack on her. In a matter of seconds, she'd be gone for good if she didn't move from her current spot. An idea came to her suddenly. Gatomon focused on her powers towards her eyes, and cried out, "Cat's Eye Hypnotism!" 

Two rays of spiraling pink energy waves burst from her eyes and entered Ninjamon's eyes. Fortunately for Gatomon, in order to attack her, Ninjamon had to maintain an eye contact with her to focus his attacks. That was all she needed to make sure her attack would be successful. True enough, Ninjamon's expression showed his current state - hypnotized! Gatomon slowly got up and limped her way to Kari.

"Gatomon... are you alright?" Kari asked in concern.

"It'll heal," Gatomon answered nonchalantly. "Don't worry. I'm still up for a fight. Just give me a minute or two to clean this wound." She looked at her right leg where Ninjamon's knife stabbed her. "Uggh... hope it will not scar, I hate to have another one after what Myotismon did to me before." The cut was quite deep, but not deep enough to stop her from moving. Like she said, the wound would heal.

"You poor kitty," Kari said and touched the wound. 

"Kari, watch," Gatomon said slyly as she focused her attention towards the hypnotized Ninjamon. The Ninjamon looked at her blankly as Gatomon seemed to be in a trance. Then, he moved slowly towards Musyamon and Leomon.

Meanwhile, Leomon and Musyamon were engaged in a fierce swords battle. Leomon had called forth his Beast King Sword, which he rarely used as he wasn't adept of it. It was evident that Musyamon was an expert as one strong thrust from his saber sent Leomon's sword away. Now weaponless, Leomon stood bravely and prepared to attack. 

"Fist of..." Suddenly, a loud cry from Musyamon stopped him. He saw Musyamon's expression, a shocked expression evident from his widely-opened eyes and his mouth forming an 'O' shape. Musyamon stood still for a while before he turned his back, revealing many knives stabbed on it. Leomon was surprised as well, especially when he saw that Ninjamon was the one who attacked Musyamon. "What's going on?"

Gatomon broke off from her trance state. "Quick, Leomon! Finish both of them now!"

"Wha-- ?" Leomon asked, but then he realized that Gatomon must have controlled Ninjamon's mind to attack Musyamon. He inhaled deeply, channeling all his powers towards his right hand to launch another of his trademark attack. "Fist - Of - The - Beast ----" Leomon's right hand began to glow bright gold, and an image of his head formed on it. " -- KINGGGGG!!!" A loud earthshaking roar erupted from Leomon's avatar as Leomon pushed his right hand with all his might, sending a powerful ray of brilliant gold towards Ninjamon and Musyamon. The gold beam enveloped the two digimons instantly, and blinding the others who were in nearby vicinity. 

************************************************** 

Meanwhile on the skies, a fierce battle between Angemon and Ice Devimon took place. Frequent blasts of gold and white lights were constantly seen being exchanged by the two digimons. T.K. worried for his partner, as Ice Devimon was much more powerful in terms of strength and power level. 

Angemon felt sweat trickling on his helmet-covered face. The battle was definitely not in his advantage as he felt himself getting tired. "I have to end this battle fast!" he gasped, trying to channel his powers again to launch another attack. While hailed as the most powerful Champion destined digimon, Angemon's prowess was somehow limited. Ice Devimon seemed to know that, and had actually prolonged their fight to weaken Angemon first. Once the angel was weak, he would be just as strong as any digimon at his level. By then, Ice Devimon could easily claim his victory.

"What's the matter? Tired already? But I'm just getting started, Ha Ha Ha !!" Ice Devimon spread his icy white wings wide, and cold winds began to emerge from the wings. The winds became stronger, colder, and with snows, as he flocked his wings faster. "Have a taste of my Zero Freeze attack while you're resting there, Angemon!" The cold winds became a freezing storm, attempting to blow Angemon away. 

"Hand of Fate!" Angemon fired his trademark attack. The gold beam shot through the storm generated by Ice Devimon, but the subzero temperature caused by Ice Devimon's storm froze the attack into a large chunk of ice, which Ice Devimon destroyed easily with his sharp claws. The clashing sounds of the frozen attack shocked Angemon, as Ice Devimon stared at him coldly with his icy eyes. Even from the inside of his silver helmet, Angemon could make out the taunting shines on the ice devil's eyes. 

"You're weakening..." Ice Devimon realized, a cold smile formed on his light-blue face. "You're even weaker than I thought!" 

"I still have enough powers to finish you off!"

"Action speaks louder than word, Angemon, and by judging the current situation I'd say that you can't even cause a single scratch on me. Let alone, destroy me! I know your weakness Angemon, and seems like I get to witness it as well." 

"You'd be sorry..." Angemon said through clenched teeth, preparing himself for another Hand of Fate.

"Make me!" Ice Devimon roared, and flew towards Angemon, claws ready to strike. His speed was amazing, and Angemon had barely enough time to dodge as he felt Ice Devimon's claws slashed him on the chest, leaving three long scratch marks on it. 

"Arrgggghhh!!!!" Angemon yelled in pain, and instantly de-digivolved in mid-air back to Patamon. A wounded Patamon who was unable to fight, with three claw marks on the white fur on the inferior part of his body. The force from Ice Devimon's attack sent him twirling in mid-air, and Patamon struggled to maintain balance by flapping his bat-like wings. Ice Devimon advanced quickly towards the Rookie mammal digimon.

"Pitiful. I so wish to see you die, so..." Ice Devimon kicked Patamon hard, sending the poor Rookie flying in the sky. The ice devil then readied himself to strike a fatal blow to the helpless Patamon, launching himself towards the Rookie with claws ready to strike when an explosion from the forests caught his attention, coupled with a deafening roar.

************************************************** 

"Vee Laser!" Ex Veemon launched his powerful X-beam from his chest towards Yashamon, who countered the attack with his wooden swords. The swords proved to be his major advantage, channeling the powers from his opponents into the grounds, leaving him unscathed. Yashamon smiled smugly, and his ears perked up when...

"Tail Hammer!" Ankylomon's attempt to ram Yashamon with his tail was foiled when Yashamon dodged the attack with amazing agility. His thin figure was a great help to battle the giant ankylosaur, who wasn't anywhere as agile as him. He leapt up to the high branches of the trees to avoid either being rammed by Ankylomon or being blasted away by Ex Veemon. Their combined forces were a match to his higher power level, and Yashamon knew that he was outnumbered. He needed to think of something, something to turn the battle into his favor.

"You've had your fun," Yashamon said as he sat on a huge tree branch. An idea suddenly came to his mind. A brilliant one for that matter. He then stood up immediately and jumped down the branch. "Now, my turn!" Thin, transparent and yet strong threads shot out from his hands similar to the way Arukenimon fired her spider threads. Those threads tied themselves around Ex Veemon and Ankylomon's limbs. "I'm gonna have lots of fun! See my Puppet Master skill!"

Ex Veemon scowled, showing his ferocious teeth. "I don't think so!" He tried to tear away the threads with his teeth.

"Such big mouth for a big baby dragon," Yashamon said, and some threads popped out from his hands, tying Ex Veemon's mouth. "There! This should shut that big mouth up." He then focused his attention on Ankylomon, who was larger and possessed greater strength. However his threads were no ordinary threads, they could control even Mega digimons. They were pretty much based on Puppetmon's strings. Ankylomon struggled hard to break free, but the more he struggled the tighter the threads bound him.

Ex Veemon still had a few tricks up his sleeve, if he had one, and tried to burn the threads using his chest laser. 

"No such luck I see," Yashamon noted gleefully as Ex Veemon's laser vaporized even before it could be fired out. "Save your strength Ex Veemon, Ankylomon, my threads are able to withstand even the sharp blades of Musyamon..." Yashamon paused to see how Musyamon was doing. To his horror, he could see clearly that Ninjamon was going to stab Musyamon from the back. "I don't believe it! Musy--AARRGGH" Before he could warn Musyamon, Ankylomon tried to ram him in order to distract his attention. Yashamon turned back to face Ankylomon, and was about to delete the ankylosaur when a blinding light erupted from the battle scene where Leomon, Musyamon and Ninjamon were. Yashamon had to cover his eyes to protect his visions, and because the light was too bright and intense for him to look at. Ex Veemon and Ankylomon closed their eyes as tight as they could, but somehow the light didn't hurt their eyes the same way it affected Yashamon.

************************************************** 

Flame Wizardmon was having a time of his own, and enjoying every moment of it. Earlier he had doubted that Stingmon and Aquilamon could pose him a threat as he had single-handedly defeated Ogremon before, but their team-up made them a match to be reckoned with. In terms of power level, Flame Wizardmon had the advantage. But, Stingmon and Aquilamon even up the score with their team-up.

"Strange. I thought Stingmon works well only with Ex Veemon?" he thought to himself. "Looks like separating them from their DNA partners was not a great plan after all. Still, I'm pretty sure I can trash these two easily." 

Stingmon hovered near Aquilamon. "Why had he stopped attacking?"

"I don't know. Seems fishy though, better we take the offensive now rather than wait around for our doom." Aquilamon charged forward, spreading his wide wings and sore above Flame Wizardmon. Stingmon followed suit, extending his arm to produce a glowing pink blade.

"Spiking Strike!" Stingmon zoomed towards Flame Wizardmon, aiming to stab him on the chest.

"Blast Rings!" Aquilamon fired spiraling pink blasts from his beak. 

Flame Wizardmon cocked his head towards the charging Stingmon. "Ohh.. a double team attack! Well hate to break it up to you, but..." Flame Wizardmon rotated his staff while producing light blue flames on his other hand. ".. take this! Fire Clouds!!!" he yelled, sending out bursts of ice-blue raging inferno towards Stingmon. Looking up above, and aiming his attention towards Aquilamon, he said, "Don't worry, I didn't forget about you as well. Fire Clouds!" The dark wizard's attacks countered Stingmon and Aquilamon's easily, while attempting to envelope them as well.

Stingmon quickly made a back flip in mid-air to avoid the fireballs targeted towards him. One of his insectoid wings was scorched by the fireball and burned a little, causing Stingmon to cry in pain. He staggered a little, trying to maintain his balance. Luckily his three other wings were functioning, but Stingmon could no longer fly as fast as he was before. 

However, his condition was considered fortunate if compared to Aquilamon. Being big, the aquila was caught instantly with Flame Wizardmon's clouds of fire, burning every inch of the feathers in his body. Burnt and battered, Aquilamon could no longer hold his Champion form, and de-digivolved back to Hawkmon. He would have fallen hard on the grounds if it wasn't for Stingmon to catch him.

"Are you hurt?" Stingmon asked in concern.

Hawkmon frowned. "Other than a few burnt marks, no... I guess I'm fine. But that Flame Wizardmon really is tough as he said he is. I'm no match for him in my Rookie form." 

"Hold on tight," Stingmon said, and Hawkmon quickly clasped his wings tight on Stingmon's left arm, which was holding him. 

"What are you going to do?" Hawkmon asked, noticing that Stingmon was flying slowly towards Flame Wizardmon.

"I'm gonna teach this guy a lesson! He's insulted me before, now he'd burned one of my wings and..and.."

"No, Stingmon. It's best if we retreat back to the others. We're no match for him!"

"I'll be fine, Hawkmon. Trust me on this one."

"I know, Stingmon. You will, but I won't," Hawkmon pointed out. "I'm a Rookie now. Besides I think we should go back down there, and you go get Ex Veemon so you can DNA digivolve together to Paildramon and fight Flame Wizardmon."

Stingmon slowed down, thinking over what Hawkmon had just said. He sighed slightly. "I guess you're right."

Flame Wizardmon watched curiously as Stingmon zoomed at him, clearly going to strike when suddenly he paused as Hawkmon talked him out of this. Stingmon complied, and flew down instead without flapping his wings, causing gravity to take over, pulling both him and Hawkmon to the grounds at top speed. A perfect way to escape Flame Wizardmon a lot faster than flying down.

'They're escaping!' Flame Wizardmon realized. "Oh no you don't! I'm not through with you yet!" he yelled, and chased after them.

"He's aftering us!" Hawkmon gasped.

Stingmon glanced behind. "Not for long!" He extended his free hand, which was his right, backward, trying to aim for Flame Wizardmon while zooming down. "Moon Shooter!" he cried out, and from his hand where the usual energy blade was projected, shot out hundreds of small needles, all aimed straight towards Flame Wizardmon. The wizard digimon didn't have enough time to dodge to attack, and was instantly pricked by the needles all over his body. The pain caused by the needles was excruciating, causing Flame Wizardmon to holler in pain.

"That gotta hurt! I don't know you could do that, Stingmon!" Hawkmon exclaimed in surprise. 

"Served him right!" Stingmon answered back, . "Now for the best part..." If it weren't for the fact that Stingmon's face was masked, Hawkmon could've sworn that the bug warrior was grinning devilishly. Although he couldn't see what was happening, suddenly he heard Flame Wizardmon let out a sickening howl, a bitter howl sounded full of pain.

"What's going on?" the little hawk asked.

"The needles are poisoned," Stingmon answered matter-of-factly. "And to make it worse, the poison will drain him of his power gradually. The Moon Shooter is actually a secret attack of mine. While it may cause the enemy to fall quicker..." Stingmon's body began to flicker, faint green aura radiated from his body. Hawkmon realized that his friend was weakening. "... well, let's hope that both of us can make it to the grounds before I de-digivolve back to Wormmon!"

************************************************** 

_to be continued _


	10. Devimon Strikes Back III

**DISCLAIMER: ** I don't own Digimon Adventures, Digimon 02, Digimon World 2 and 3. 

** ***************************

** VENGEANCE   
  
- Chapter 09 - Devimon Strikes Back, Part III -  
  
by **

** Alforce Zero**

Power of darkness, hear me now

A spell I shall cast

My enemies I shall defeat

Steal what is theirs and make it mine

Bind their powers to my own

Devimon nodded slowly after finished reciting the words, his mouth breaking into a slight sneer as his crimson eyes glinted maliciously. A gust of wind appeared out of nowhere and formed a minute whirlwind in front of him. Soft yellow lights began to glimmer from the whirlwind as strange digital world alphabet characters swirled within it, letting out a faint hum. 

"The spell is complete," Devimon said softly to himself in satisfaction, and sat himself back on his throne. The whirlwind then let out a small benign explosion, and transformed into three small glowing black orbs. Devimon was satisfied as the orbs orbit around him, each was radiating with an aura of evil. Each orb was similar to the one Piedmon had inserted inside the back of Gennai's neck during their battle years ago. Devimon then turned his attention towards the hall in front of the throne, where Devidramon was squatting alone. The dark dragon was watching Devimon with pure interest, staring at Devimon intently with his four crimson eyes. 

"What are you looking at?" Devimon barked in annoyance. 

Devidramon averted his eyes away quickly, staring on the grounds instead. "Nothing, master. I'm just admiring your powers." Yes, this Devidramon had the ability to speak, instead of growling incoherently like most of his species. Being created from Devimon's own digital DNA was the main reason behind that, the six digimons seemed to inherit part of Devimon's intelligence as well.

"Flattering as it may be..." Devimon began, and Devidramon didn't dare raise his head to look into his master's face, fearing to anger him in any sort of way. "... fool! Look up!" Devimon commanded. 

"Sorry, master."

"Stop fearing me or I'll blast you away this instant! I only expect my subjects to be obedient, not to fear me!"

Devidramon did as commanded. "I'm so... yes, master Devimon."

"Better." Devimon shook his head slightly. He then flicked his right hand towards Devidramon, telekinetically directing the three orbs to go to Devidramon. "Take these orbs and go with Ogremon to help your friends." At the mention of his name, Ogremon entered the grand hall of the fortress using the main entrance. He seemed to be in perfect condition, considering his near-fatal battle with Flame Wizardmon earlier. However, Ogremon didn't seem to be himself. With a pair of malicious, hungry red blood eyes and an expression ten times more ferocious, it was clear that Ogremon's mind was controlled by Devimon. The digimon walked briskly towards Devidramon, and the sight of something black glinting from his back caught Devidramon's eyes. It was a Black Gear!

"Master," Ogremon said, and bowed slightly in respect.

Devimon nodded in approval. "Ogremon. How nice for you to join us at last."

"It is a pleasure to work for you, master."

"The pleasure is all mine, Ogremon. However, I have one little task for you." Devimon waved his hand a little, and the orbs hovering around Devidramon immediately detatched themselves from their orbit and fell into Ogremon's ready hands. "Listen closely."

************************************************** 

As the explosion of radiant golden lights began to die away, the Digidestined and the digimons were able to open their eyes again to see the cause of the explosion. Those who were nearby the vicinity where the battle between Leomon, Musyamon and Ninjamon took place saw that Leomon had fallen on the grounds, unconscious. However, so were Musyamon and Ninjamon. While the attack didn't delete them, it was enough to knock them out.

Kari rushed over to Leomon, with Gatomon clutched towards her body. Behind her were T.K. and the severely-injured Patamon held tight across his chest, followed closely by Davis, Cody, Ken and Yolei. "Oh no, Leomon!"

Leomon was unresponsive to Kari's call. She, T.K. and Davis quickly turned Leomon, whose face was buried in the soil, upwards. The warrior lion's expression showed that he had used most of his powers to launch the attack earlier. He was still breathing, slow and steady. T.K. managed to feel a heartbeat, although very faint, on Leomon's left chest.

"He's still alive!" T.K. declared, and let out a sigh in relief. Leomon's chest began to move up and down slowly, a sign of breathing. Although very weak, but present nevertheless.

Davis focused his attention towards the fallen Musyamon and Ninjamon. "What should we do with them?"

Gatomon shook herself from Kari and landed on the grounds. "I say we finish them off right now while they are still unconscious!" She brandished her sharp claws, ready to strike.

"Good idea! Who's up to do it?" Davis agreed and looked around. "Not Ex Veemon or Ankylomon I guess, they're still tied up by that Yashamon's threads." He cocked his head towards his left, where the two Champion digimons were tied up. Yashamon however, was nowhere in sight. 

"Hey, where's Yashamon?" he wondered.

"Chickened out I guess," Cody replied.

T.K. looked at his beaten-and-battered partner, whose eyes was half-opened. "Patamon is still weak from his fight with Ice Devimon." He grumbled as his expression became slightly fierce. "He's going to pay for what he'd done to Patamon. And if it's really Devimon behind this..." he shuddered a little after saying this as he recollected his dream. "... he's going down as well!"

"I'm ready to fight him, T.K.!" Patamon wheezed slowly, but in the same time full of determination. T.K.'s expression softened a little, seeing his partner in this unfavourable kind of state.

"Not now buddy," he said. "You need a rest."

Yolei and Ken looked at each other. "Not Hawkmon or Wormmon either," Yolei said. "Both of them were drained off their powers from the fight with that annoying wizard digimon! But Stingmon sure got him good with that Needle Shooter of his! I never knew he could do that!"

"It's the Moon Shooter, Yolei," Ken corrected. "Me neither, I myself never seen Stingmon perform that attack."

Wormmon, who was on the grounds beside Hawkmon, looked up towards Ken. "It's my secret attack, which can be used as a last resort to weaken any digimon, but to the expanse of my own power as well. I sure hope I don't have to use that attack anymore, or I'll be draining my own powers everytime I fight."

"Are you still able to digivolve to Stingmon?" Davis asked.

"Maybe, I don't know. I can try, at least," Wormmon replied and glanced towards Ken. "Ken?"

Ken hesitated. "I think it's better for Wormmon to rest for a while." Wormmon looked mildly surprised, but accepted it silently.

"I guess you're right," Davis agreed.

"So it's up to me and Gatomon then," Kari concluded and looked at Gatomon. "Ready, Gatomon?"

"You bet!" Gatomon took her stance close to Kari.

Kari lifted her right hand, where she wore her Diginizer of Light. "Diginizer Energize!" 

"Gatomon, Trans Digivolve to... Angewomon!!"

"Oh man, I can never get bored of seeing this!" Davis commented with a slight grin.

Angewomon, the result of the fusion between Kari and Gatomon, hovered in mid air impressively. Pink aura radiated from her, and she looked just like a goddess whom had descended from the sky. However, with eight pure white wings spread out she resembled more of a female arch-angel. 

"Hey... let's see Angewomon's profile on the Digi-Analyzer!" Yolei sugggested. From behind the silver helmet, Angewomon raised an eyebrow in amusement but of course, no one was able to see that. Kari could hear Gatomon snicker from behind of her. 

**----------------- DIGIMON ANALYZER ------------------  
**Name : Angewomon  
Attribute : Vaccine  
Level : Ultimate  
  
Attacks : Celestial Arrow, Heavens Charm   
Power Level : 68

Extra info : This Angewomon is the result of Trans Digivolution between the Digidestined of Light and Gatomon, and is more powerful than any regular Angewomon.   
------------------------------------------------------------------------

T.K. stared at Angewomon while thinking deeply. 'If it's Devimon behind this, then we're really going to need Magna Angemon real soon. I just hope I and Patamon will be able to digivolve together soon.'

"Her power level is 68?!" Yolei exclaimed in disbelief. "She's able to trash all of them without a sweat! Both of those jokers are both below 60!"

"Unbelievable!" Davis looked at Angewomon with full admiration. 

Angewomon hovered close above the unconscious Musyamon and Ninjamon. She spread her hands apart, and the pink aura around her began to glow more intense. "Heavens..." She then clasped her hands in front of her, leaving a horizontal pink line trailing out from her hands and after joining her hands together, a similar but vertical pink line joined the horizontal line. "Charm!!" Angewomon quickly spread her hands back wide quickly, and a powerful vertical line-beam charged down towards the fallen Musyamon and Ninjamon. Instantly, the two digimons combusted into millions of data particles.

"Yeah! Way to go Angewomon!" Yolei cried exuberantly for her DNA-digivolve partner. 

Angewomon then turned to face the Digidestined and the digimons. Inside of her, Gatomon's voice again guided her to proceed to the next step. "Are you sure it's gonna work, Gatomon?" she mentally asked. "I've never seen you did it."

_"I'm sure," _Gatomon chided. _"And I've done it before, although back then it wasn't for healing purposes. Remember the first time you got stuck inside the Dark Ocean? After deleting that rogue Airdramon, I freed those fake Scubamons from the Dark Rings. Just do the same thing for all of them. Think about each and every one of them, and focus your powers on those thoughts."_

"I'll try," Angewomon answered back, mentally. She raised both hands in front of her, pointing towards her friends. A faint pink beam of light emerged from her hands, showering both Digidestined and digimons with it. 

Patamon felt strange sensation from inside of him. "Hey... I feel warm all over."

"Me too. The lights are giving me back the energy," Wormmon added. 

"Same here..." Hawkmon informed, but he was cut off when T.K.'s, Ken's and Yolei's Diginizers shot green, purple and red beams respectively towards the digimons. They were given a power boost, which healed all the inflicted wounds and enabling them to digivolve back to their Champion levels.

"Patamon Digivolve to... Angemon!"

"Wormmon Digivolve to... Stingmon!"

"Hawkmon Digivolve to... Aquilamon!"

"This is amazing! There's no way we could lose now!" Yolei said delightfully as she looked at the digivolved Champions one by one. However, her gaze stopped at Leomon, who was still unconscious. "What about Leomon?" she asked.

Angewomon's expression changed a little, although it was blocked efficiently by the helmet she was wearing. However it was still pretty much evident as her face's lower half was still visible.

"I don't know... I thought this would cure him as well."

Cody and Ken studied Leomon's condition. All his wounds were cured, yet he remained unconscious. "He seems okay," Ken told the others.

"Other than unconscious, I'm sure he's fine," Cody added.

"Okay, here's the plan. Now that Stingmon's back, I think that he should go help Ex Veemon and Ankylomon battling that Yashamon. They can DNA-Digivolve together to Paildramon to take care of Yashamon, while Ankylomon and Angemon can become Shakkoumon to take on either Flame Wizardmon or Ice Devimon. Aquilamon and Angewomon will handle the other one," Davis suggested. 

"You speak like a born-leader, bro," Ken commented with a slight grin. 

"Really?" Davis said. "Thanks!"

"Just don't let it go over your head," Yolei added.

"And no thanks to you!" Davis shot back good-naturedly. 

As Davis planned, Stingmon went to help the trapped Ex Veemon and Ankylomon. With Yashamon out of the way mysteriously, Stingmon used his Spiking Strike attack to tear away the strong threads. It took him several attempts, but after ten or twenty times of slashing away the threads, and coupled with Ex Veemon's laser beam the threads were able to be removed.

"Thanks Stingmon! I don't know what would happen if you didn't come along," Ex Veemon said.

Stingmon nodded. "Your welcome. Ready for some DNA-Digivolution now?"

"Always!" Ex Veemon agreed, as Davis and Ken ran up to them, both holding up their Diginizers. The Diginizers of Courage and Kindness shot out blue and green lights which enveloped and energized Ex Veemon and Stingmon. 

"Ex Veemon...!"

"Stingmon...!"

"DNA-Digivolve to... Paildramon!" Within seconds, the Ultimate level Paildramon stood tall in front of their partners, ready for battle. Paildramon's head nearly reached the top of the canopies of the trees, and he had to resort to hunching himself a little. However, he still had the difficulty in moving as his wings kept on hitting the trees. Paildramon sighed in exasperation and stopped moving.

**----------------- DIGIMON ANALYZER ------------------  
**Name : Paildramon  
Attribute : Vaccine  
Level : Ultimate  
  
Attack : Desperado Blaster  
Power Level : 65  
Digivolve to : Imperialdramon

Extra info : Paildramon is the result of the DNA-Digivolution between Ex Veemon and Stingmon, when Ex Veemon is the dominant form.  
------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Hey! Paildramon is nearly as powerful as Angewomon!" Davis cried out, surprised.

"I guess this is why the Trans Digivolution method is introduced. Each Ultimate digimon resulted from Trans Digivolution is as strong as a DNA-Digivolved digimon. I wonder what would be the result if Stingmon should be the dominant form?" Ken wondered to himself.

"Should we make him Mega Digivolve to Imperialdramon now?" Davis asked.

"Not yet I think, we should conserve their powers for later use," Ken answered, and looked at Paildramon. "Okay you guys, Flame Wizardmon should be weakened by Stingmon's attack earlier. Now is the perfect time to finish him up once and for all!"

Paildramon nodded. "We'll do it!" he answered in their dual voice. He then flew above the sky, sending winds blowing towards the other Digidestined and digimons.

Angemon walked over to Ankylomon. "I need to settle some scores with that Ice Devimon, but I'm afraid I can't do this alone. He got me really bad last time. Can you help me and DNA Digivolve?"

"Why of course Angemon, I'll be glad to!" Ankylomon replied. Both digimons then radiated with green and yellow lights from their partners' Diginizers. The powers gave them the necessary boost to make them DNA-Digivolve.

"Ankylomon...!"

"Angemon...!"

"... DNA Digivolve to... Shakkoumon!" The angel and the ankylosaur had merged together to form a vaccine type Mutant digimon who resembled a walking teapot with a pair of white wings behind him. 

**----------------- DIGIMON ANALYZER ------------------  
**Name : Shakkoumon  
Attribute : Vaccine  
Level : Ultimate  
  
Attacks : Justice Beam, Katchina Bombs  
Power Level : 62

Extra info : Shakkoumon's armor can withstand even a powerful Mega digimon's attacks  
------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Like we don't know that already," Cody said dryly as he observed Shakkoumon. The digimon was even bigger than Paildramon, his head and upper torso were already taller than the canopies. It didn't help much as Shakkoumon also was hovering about two metres from the grounds. Some of the branches of the trees were accidentally broken during the formation of the mutant digimon.

"We'll take care of Ice Devimon," Shakkoumon said with his dual voice, with Angemon's voice being clearer. They immediately rose up higher to meet their adversary.

"I feel so left out..." Aquilamon muttered. Being big himself, although nowhere as big as Paildramon and Shakkoumon, he still had some restrictions in moving. His DNA partner, Gatomon, no longer needed to DNA-Digivolve with him as she could achieve her Ultimate level with the new method of Trans Digivolution.

"Maybe you should power down now Aquilamon, we may need your help later," Yolei suggested. "You can help us out by watching over Leomon here. I think both Paildramon and Shakkoumon can handle the job."

"Good idea, Yolei," Aquilamon replied, and did as his partner had suggested.

Yolei smirked. "That's what you get for having a brains-and-beauty as a partner!"

Hawkmon sweatdropped. "I beg your pardon?" 

"Nothing!" Yolei answered back, a little bit shrilly as she noticed the other Digidestined and Angewomon were looking at her strangely. Ken however had a slight smile formed on his face just before he shifted back his attention up, towards Paildramon and Shakkoumon.

Meanwhile, Shakkoumon and Paildramon found themselves facing Ice Devimon and Flame Wizardmon. To Paildramon's amusement, Flame Wizardmon looked somewhat paler than usual. The fiery wizard digimon was hovering close to Ice Devimon. He was cursing silently about being careless to be pricked with Stingmon's Moon Shooter attack. Ice Devimon in the meantime, looked just the same as before. He sneered towards both of them, particularly towards Shakkoumon.

"Hah, what a joke! A walking teapot!" he cackled.

"A joke I may be, but I'm a lot stronger than you to take you down easily!" Angemon's voice retorted back.

Ice Devimon scoffed. "Oh, so the boy angel's back. How nice." He raised his claws high, ready to strike. "Frost..."

"Oh no you don't! Desperado Blaster!" Paildramon intercepted before Ice Devimon could even start attacking Shakkoumon. The two machineguns strapped on either sides of his armor shot out hundreds of energy-based bullets all focused on the icy devil. He was determined to end this battle quickly, and since Flame Wizardmon wasn't in fit condition to fight he decided to assist Ice Devimon instead.

"Katchina Bombs!" Shakkoumon joined in. The center part of the armor covering his groin region opened up its compartments, releasing what Shakkoumon called the Katchina bombs aimed at Ice Devimon too. Being attacked by Paildramon at the same time, there was no way Ice Devimon could counter the attack.

Flame Wizardmon was angered, and felt as if he was underestimated when Paildramon ignored him blatantly. He raised his staff, ready to attack Paildramon when he wasn't looking. Slowly, he lowered himself and crept behind Paildramon. Meanwhile, Shakkoumon saw the chance to end the battle quickly when Ice Devimon seemed to be flustered.

"Justice Beam!" He summoned. Two rays of red beams shot out from his narrowed spherical eyes. The intense heat generated from the beam was somehow overwhelming, and Ice Devimon was pushed backwards several metres. 

Flame Wizardmon sniggered as he came closer to attacking Paildramon. "Fire Clouds!!" he yelled, and enveloped Paildramon with dark black and red fiery clouds. The ambush shocked Paildramon as he was blasted with the attack full force. Unexpecting the attack, Paildramon spun his head to see his attacker, only to meet Flame Wizardmon's Fire Clouds blasted towards his face.

"Argghh!!!" Paildramon yelled in pain, and was hurled backwards. His eyes was covered by the smokes, unabling him to see his surroundings. Seeing his advantage, Flame Wizardmon proceeded to attack again, only to be met with an arrow made of pure light striking him from his behind. He spun furiously, and saw Angewomon hovering behind him. It was her who attacked him, and not realizing her presence as he was too busy attacking Paildramon, he saw that he was blasted at close proximity.

"You foul digimon. Two can play that game," Angewomon muttered.

"You'll pay for this, foolish girl!" Flame Wizardmon growled angrily. However, realizing that he was now facing two Ultimate digimons, he knew that he wouldn't stand a chance. Paildramon in the meantime managed to clear out the fire that enveloped him earlier.

"Thanks for the save Angewomon," Paildramon said, fixing his eyes towards Flame Wizardmon.

"Anytime," Angewomon replied back, her attention was still on Flame Wizardmon. 

Shakkoumon joined Paildramon and Angewomon with Ice Devimon being hurled towards Flame Wizardmon. The three of them surrounded their defeated opponents, all ready to fire their attacks.

"Give it up while you still have the chance!" Shakkoumon demanded, his eyes letting out crimson lights at the same time, warning the digimons that he would use the Justice Beam attack. Paildramon closed in on the two digimons, ready to attack as well with his blasters, and Angewomon had summoned her bow and arrow. 

"Never!" Ice Devimon spat back. "You still haven't win, foolish weaklings! Look!" he pointed his claws towards the direction where Paildramon was facing his back against. Not trusting him, Paildramon kept his gaze fixed on him while Angewomon floated higher to get a better view. She saw a creature resembling a black dragon was on its way towards them. The creature was flying with top speed, and at the same time a loud screeching roar suddenly was heard coming from it. As it got nearer, Angewomon realized what it was.

"It's Devidramon!" She gasped, and squinted her eyes to see better. "And there's something green riding it, but I can't see it clearly to confirm the rider's identity. It looks like a digimon as well." As the dark dragon digimon came closer towards them, Angewomon finally recognized the rider, although she didn't really believe it at first. "Ogremon's on that Devidramon," she said slowly, shocked at the same time. She thought that Ogremon was on their side.

Shakkoumon was perplexed, well the Angemon within Shakkoumon was the one perplexed while Ankylomon was only mildly surprised. "I thought he's on our side?" Angemon's voice came out from Shakkoumon, pretty much voicing out what Angewomon was thinking.

"Your side? Hah, you wish! He's serving our master now!" Flame Wizardmon retorted. 

Devidramon loomed towards them and positioned himself beside Flame Wizardmon. "It's about time you show up, Devidramon."

"I'm here under the Master's order," Devidramon said simply. "Him too." Devidramon gestured at Ogremon who was riding on his back. Ogremon was holding his bone cudgel on his left hand, while balancing three black orbs on his right. His eyes were glowing red, and on his back was a Black Gear. Shakkoumon recognized it instantly.

"The Black Gear!" Shakkoumon exclaimed. "That means only one thing. Devimon! And Ogremon's under his control, he's not himself."

"Then we have to knock some senses on him now won't we?" Paildramon asked, and advanced towards Devidramon, Flame Wizardmon and Ice Devimon. "Desperado..."

"Crimson Claw!!" Devidramon yelled fiercely, and slashed Paildramon brutally before the latter could attack him. As if on cue, Ogremon jumped from Devidramon's head where he was standing, and threw one of the black orb towards Paildramon. The DNA-Digivolved digimon was hurled away by force that he couldn't balance himself for a while. Just as he managed to reposition himself, the black orb entered his neck region from behind, and Paildramon was electrocuted instantly by black lightning bolts that came from inside his body. 

"AAAAHHHHHH!!!!" Paildramon let out a sickening yell.

"Paildramon!!" Angewomon and Shakkoumon cried simultaneously. Turning to face Devidramon and Ogremon, Shakkoumon barked. "What did you do to him?!"

Ogremon, smiling viciously as he landed on Devidramon's outstretched palm, replied. "The same thing that I'm gonna do to you two!" He gathered up force to make another jump, and threw the remaining two orbs towards Shakkoumon and Angewomon. Being large, Shakkoumon was not agile or mobile, causing the black orb to enter his body easily through the chest. He suffered the same fate as Paildramon. Meanwhile, the angel of light was luckier, being small and agile, she evaded the black orb by flying away as fast as she could. The black orb however seemed to have a mind of his own as it gave chase to Angewomon. Finally just as it was about to enter Angewomon by the neck, Angewomon spun around and clasped her wings together to protect her body, forming instantly a circular pink force-field. (A/N: Like she did during the fight with Venom Myotismon) The orb bounced after hitting the shield Angewomon generated, and the angel quickly fired a pink laser beam through her index and middle finger, thus destroying the orb. Thus she was saved from the orb, and looked helplessly at her friends who were yelling in pain.

"The angel escaped!" Devidramon hissed furiously when Ogremon made a backflip in mid-air, landing on the dark dragon's head again. "The Master is not going to be so happy about this!"

"It's not my fault she escaped! I got the other two!" Ogremon growled back.

Paildramon felt himself losing power as he de-digivolved back to Ex Veemon and Stingmon. Strangely, the excruciating pain they had experienced together while as Paildramon had instantly vanished. The two Champion digimons were however bewildered that they didn't de-digivolved straight to their Rookie forms as they usually did whenever they de-digivolved. Luckily both Ex Veemon and Stingmon were airborne digimon, as Paildramon had de-digivolved in mid-air. Unfortunately, Shakkoumon seemed to be less fortunate. After de-digivolving back to Ankylomon and Angemon, the giant ankylosaur immediately was pulled back to the grounds by gravity. Angemon tried to get a hold on his partner, but Ankylomon was much too heavy for him alone. Angewomon rushed to their aid, but in terms of physical strength she was even weaker than Angemon, and was pulled down as well. The three of them zoomed towards the grounds, with Ex Veemon and Stingmon rushing as fast as they could to help Ankylomon from crashing on the grounds.

"You have to de-digivolve to Armadillomon now!!" Angemon yelled desperately.

"I can't! I don't know how! I still have the Diginizer's powers inside me!" Ankylomon shouted back. "Both of you, let go!"

"No!" Angewomon said defiantly. "We're not letting go!" 

Ex Veemon and Stingmon then immediately flew past the three digimons, and tried their best to support Ankylomon's weight from the bottom part of the ankylosaur. With four digimons holding him, Ankylomon felt his falling speed had decreased gradually. The five of them supported Ankylomon all the way back to the grounds. 

"Hey, what happened up there to you guys? How come you're not in your DNA-Digivolved forms?" Ken inquired as he and the other Digidestined approached the digimons.

"We don't know. We were hit by some strange black orbs up there by Ogremon!" Stingmon answered back furiously.

"Ogremon?" T.K. asked. "I thought he's on our side?"

"That's what I thought too. But apparently he's under the control of the Black Gear, which confirmed that Devimon is indeed back on this island," Angemon replied. 

"C'mon guys, you have to DNA- Digivolve again," Davis said, and held out his Diginizer.

"Right!" Ex Veemon said. "Ex Veemon...!"

"Stingmon..."

"... DNA Digivolve to..." Instead of Paildramon appearing, Ex Veemon and Stingmon collided in mid air together and fell back on the grounds. 

"Hey.. what happened?" Ex Veemon wondered. "How come we're not Paildramon?"

"Those orbs must be the reason behind this," Angemon concluded. He turned to face Ankylomon. "How about if we try it as well?"

"Okay! Ankylomon...!"

"Angemon...!"

"... DNA Digivolve to..." The same thing happened, only that this time around Angemon managed to back off from hitting himself on Ankylomon diamond-hard skin. 

"This day had just gone from bad to worse!" Yolei moaned. 

"I managed to destroy the orb which was aimed towards me, so I think Gatomon and Aquilamon can still DNA Digivolve," Angewomon said. 

"You're the only pair left," Davis said slowly. "And our enemies are extremely strong!"

"Devimon really had it all planned out..." T.K. muttered furiously.

"Your dream, T.K.," Angemon began.

"I know," T.K. said immediately, cutting off what Angemon was trying to say. "It's not a coincidence."

"What do we do now?" Cody asked.

"Where's Leomon?" Angewomon suddenly remembered. "And I don't see Hawkmon around too."

"I had him to Armor Digivolve to Shurimon to guard Leomon while all of us came here when all of you crash-landed," Yolei replied.

"We can't fight them anymore. We have no choice but to retreat," Davis decided. The other Digidestined murmured their agreements, and set back to meet Shurimon and the unconscious Leomon whom the Armor digimon was guarding. However, something looked very wrong as they came nearer to where the two digimons were. Yolei immediately spotted the colors brown and white which stood out from the bushes where they were. "Oh no! Hawkmon!!" She ran to retrieve her fallen partner, who seemed to be extremely weak and hurt.

"What happened?" Ken asked, shocked to see Hawkmon's condition. He noticed too, that Leomon was gone. "Where's Leomon?"

Hawkmon opened his eyes slowly, feeling somehow relieved to see his partner. "It.. it's an..amb..ambush! Yash..amon... attack... take.. Leomon away," he wheezed weakly, and let out a cough.

"Shhhh..." Yolei said, feeling furious and sad at the same time. She felt her vision blurred by tears.

"Yo..lei, don't...cry.. I.. okay..rea..really..." 

Yolei looked at Angewomon, who was standing behind her. "Can you..."

"Yes, Yolei. Please move aside, I will heal him," Angewomon said and kneeled beside Hawkmon. She placed one palm on Hawkmon's chest and tried her best to heal her friend. Pink aura emitted from her palm, and Angewomon willed her healing ability to heal the fallen bird digimon who was her DNA partner. She closed her eyes as she felt herself drained off powers, and when she opened her eyes again, she was no longer Angewomon. The Ultimate lady-angel digimon had reverted back to Kari and Gatomon, while Hawkmon was healed almost perfectly.

"Some bruises around, but you'll heal," Gatomon said with a smile.

"I'm glad you're allright," Kari said. "Sorry we can't fully heal you, we've used all our powers."

Hawkmon inspected himself. He did have some minor bruises here and there, but he no longer felt any pain or weak anymore. "Thank you, my friends." Yolei quickly picked up Hawkmon and hugged him tight.

"I'm so glad you're okay!" she cried happily, crushing Hawkmon in the process.

"I don't think he's going to be okay any longer if Yolei keeps on doing that," Davis said slowly.

"What happened Hawkmon? Where's Leomon?" Ken repeated his questions.

"Yolei... you're crushing me... let go... I'm fine..." came Hawkmon's muffled reply.

Yolei realized what she was doing and let go immediately. "Sorry." 

Hawkmon stood on the grounds and looked at all of them. "After you guys were gone to check out the commotion, I was suddenly attacked from behind, which caused me to fall to the grounds instantly. I tried to get up, and saw the digimon who did that to me. It was Yashamon. Before I could get up he beat me up with his wooden swords, and then three digimons emerged from the woods. All of them had glowing red eyes, but I recognized them as a Meramon, a Frigimon and a Mojyamon. However they seemed to have these strange gear-like devices stuck on their back. All of them attacked me at once, leaving me outnumbered. I de-digivolved and was thrown away in the bushes. Then I saw all of them carrying Leomon away before everything became black to me. And the worst thing is... it all happened within five minutes! FIVE MINUTES! I feel so humiliated!"

"Seems like Devimon possessed many other digimons other than Ogremon," T.K. said. "The gears you saw on their backs were the Black Gears, Hawkmon. Devimon created them to control the minds of digimons."

"There's no way you could fight off all of them at once, Hawkmon," Gatomon assured him. "Just be thankful you survived. Then you can have revenge!" Her expression became slightly dangerous as she said this. "I'll even help you. Do you know that we're the only DNA Digivolution pair now? The others couldn't DNA digivolve anymore."

Hawkmon's eyes bulged after hearing this. "Why?" Gatomon proceeded by telling him the whole story.

************************************************** 

"Everything turned almost the way I expected," Devimon said with grim satisfaction. "Although they missed one DNA Digivolution pair, and destroyed two of my minions, it doesn't matter. I managed to get Imperialdramon out of the way, and the Child of Hope can no longer make his digimon partner advance from his Champion form. It's perfect!"

In the shadows, five pairs of red eyes watched as Devimon performed a ritual which involved some chantings. They'd returned to the fortress upon Devimon's order, although they had the chance to beat the Digidestined for good if given a little more time. However, Devimon had other plans for them and so, they obeyed their master and retreated as well.

Power of darkness, hear me now

A spell I shall cast

My enemies I shall defeat

Steal what is theirs and make it mine

Bind their powers to my own

Two red orbs formed on Devimon's palms, their colors the same as the devil digimon's eyes. Holding the red orbs tightly, he stood from his throne and met the gazes of his faithful minions. Opening his palm, he displayed the two red orbs to them.

"These red orbs contain the power to DNA Digivolve from those digimons struck by the black orbs earlier. It's a pity one of them was destroyed, otherwise we would have three red orbs now with us," Devimon stopped, and stared into Ogremon's eyes. His gaze was enough to scare the ogre digimon.

"I'm sorry master! I didn't expect her to shield herself like that!" he croaked.

"She's not even a DNA-Digivolved digimon, fool! You should have saved the last orb until Silphymon appeared!" Devimon barked back, and Ogremon cowered in fear. "However, you managed to do your assigned task just fine with the other two, so I will not punish you. In fact, you should be thankful that you will even have your reward." Devimon's gaze suddenly became more penetrating as he dropped his voice. "Your _eternal_ reward," he said coldly. Ogremon couldn't think of what to say, so he resorted to nodding in aggrement. 

"I'm honored, master."

"Good. Then let's begin the ceremony. You!" Devimon pointed towards Ogremon, and gestured at the unconscious body of Leomon. "Take Leomon's body and stand in the center of the hall. Now!!" Ogremon quickly did as he was instructed.

Power of darkness, hear me now

A spell I shall cast

Bind these two to become one

Bind their loyalties to me

Bind their powers to my own

One of the red orb hovered above Ogremon, who was standing beside the unconscious body of Leomon. The orb then showered both of them with crimson beam of light, which was so bright the other digimons had to close their eyes. Devimon continued to chant the spell over and over again, each time the spell was repeated the rhythm became faster, and his voice became louder until it echoed all over the hall. Thunders rumbled inside the great hall furiously and winds blew in all directions. The candles which were used to lit up the dark hall were extinguished of their flames, leaving the hall to be lit by the glowing red orb. A ghostly image of a huge black ring appeared in the center of the hall where Ogremon stood, and where Leomon was sprawled. Black Gears came from all directions, encircling Ogremon and Leomon from all directions until they became nothing more than black energy balls which both Ogremon and Leomon absorbed. The other digimons, with the exception of Devimon, heard Ogremon cried out loudly in the midst of the thunders, winds and Devimon's chantings.

"Ogremon... DNA-Digivolve to... "

(A/N: Well that's it for now. This chapter is really hard to write, but I've decided to leave it right there, making it a cliffhanger. What form would Ogremon and Leomon took once they DNA Digivolved? Find out next, on Digimon 02 : Vengeance!)


	11. Devimon Strikes Back IV

**DISCLAIMER: ** I don't own Digimon Adventures, Digimon 02, Digimon World 2 and 3. 

NOTE : Sorry it took me so long to update. Something's wrong with my monitor and I had to send it to the place where I bought it for check-up. Turns out, the transformer was fried! (Whatever that means, that's what the guys at the shop said). Thankfully it's under warranty, so I don't have to pay a single cent. =) I've got a temporary monitor for the time being. And, to make it up for my month-long absence, I've uploaded two chapters instead of one, thus completing the five-part "Devimon Strikes Back" saga. Read on!

** ***************************

** VENGEANCE   
  
- Chapter 10 - Devimon Strikes Back, Part IV -  
  
by **

** Alforce Zero**

After another couple of hours of walking inside the deep forest, the Digidestined and the digimons arrived on what looked like a clearing. Looking at the watch, all of them realized that it was already late evening back on their world although here in the Digital World, it was hard to tell the time. The clouds were still hovering around the island and its nearby regions. Thankfully though, there were no more winds, rains, thunders or lightnings to accompany those purple clouds. The calmness however was unnerving, as it was already confirmed that Devimon was indeed behind this. The mere fact of the devil digimon being back on the island, and that his minions had already been successfull in beating them, caused them to feel unsure of what to do. 

"Let's take a break here. My feet's killing me," Davis suggested, and he sat himself on the grounds, massaging his sore feet. Veemon joined his partner, taking his place beside Davis and leaned himseld on Davis's back. He tried to stiffle a yawn, but Davis had caught it immediately. "You're tired," he noted, stating the obvious.

Veemon yawned again. "Exhausted more like it."

"Me too," Wormmon said as he made his way beside Veemon. "I think all of us really need the break. The earlier battle was really tiring."

"I wonder why all of them retreated at the last minute, since it would be perfect for them to finish us off?" Cody wondered and sat beside Davis and Veemon's other side, forming a semi-circle. 

"Whatever the reason is, I'm really glad!" Armadillomon replied, settling himself down beside his partner. 

The other three Digidestined and their digimons then joined in and formed a circle amongst the twelve of them. 

"I wonder what Devimon's up too," Kari began slowly, looking at T.K. who was sitting silently on her left, with Patamon perched on his hat. The tall blonde seemed to be loss in thoughts as he fiddled with the stones, picking one and throwing it away without using much force. He had that blank look plastered on his face, and his eyes didn't meet the gaze of the other five Digidestined. 

"Hello! Earth to T.A.?" Davis called and leaned forward, waving his hands in front of T.K.'s eyes.

"Huh? What?" T.K. was snapped back into reality. 

"Penny for your thoughts?" Kari asked.

T.K. sighed. "I was thinking about what happened four years ago, during our first battle with Devimon. I thought Angemon had destroyed him for good, he had used up all of our Digivices' powers and ended up sacrificing himself to destroy Devimon. Seeing that he's back now made me thought over and over again that Angemon's sacrifice had been... useless. He never was destroyed in the first place."

The others nodded silently. Neither of them, not even Kari, had any experience of battling Devimon beforehand. Except for Ken, although he only encountered Devimon during his reign as the Digimon Emperor. Cody had heard about their battle with Devimon from Matt, when he was trying to understand T.K. during the times they had to fight Black WarGreymon, making him having a clearer idea of how the battle was like compared to Ken, Davis, Yolei and Kari.

"Now that our digimons, save for Hawkmon and Gatomon, can no longer DNA Digivolve, we really need all the help we can get," Cody said. 

Yolei was typing something on her D-Terminal. "I'm informing Gennai of what's happening around here. Hopefully he'll know what to do."

"Whatever it is, it better be fast," Hawkmon said. "Devimon could be attacking any minute now."

As if on cue, a loud explosion suddenly came from north-west of the place where they were sitting, deep inside the forest again.

"You and your big mouth Hawkmon," Yolei muttered as all of them stood up instantly. "What was that?"

"We better go and find out!" Davis exclaimed and ran with Veemon back into the forest. 

"Hey wait for us!" the others cried and followed them. They managed to catch up with Davis and Veemon, and together they slowed down as they approached the place. Grey smokes seemed to be coming from there, spreading in every direction. They could hear some faint cries of what sounded like Rookie digimons, shouting out attack names. They seemed to be fighting a stronger digimon, whose roar was heard clearly. 

"There's a battle going on over there!" Gatomon realized as she tried to wipe away all the smokes from her face. 

"And it looks like they don't stand a chance!" Armadillomon added.

"We better go and help them!" T.K. shouted as he struggled to run through the smokes. All of them followed him, and the faint cries they heard earlier became clearer every second. All of them were surprised when the cries they heard sounded extremely familiar.

"Pepper Breath!"

"Blue Blaster!"

"Spiral Twister!"

"Super Shocker!"

"Poison Ivy!"

"Marching Fishes!"

They came into a place where a river flowed by, and instantly saw Devidramon and Yashamon fighting six Rookie digimons. All of them recognized the Rookies as being Agumon, Gabumon, Biyomon, Tentomon, Palmon and Gomamon. In short, they were the partners of the more senior Digidestined, and they were losing the battle. Devidramon and Yashamon in the meantime, showed no mercy as they pit their strength together to blast away the six weaker digimons away instantly.

"Hey! Why don't you pick someone your own size!" Davis shouted angrily, attracting their attention. The two evil digimons spun around and narrowed their eyes after seeing the Digidestined and the digimons.

"Aha! If it isn't the weaklings who call themselves Digidestined!" Yashamon sneered.

Devidramon flashed his crimson eyes dangerously. "Picking someone your size? Why, that means YOU!"

"Veemon Digivolve to... ExVeemon!"

"Wormmon Digivolve to... Stingmon!"

"Armadillomon Armor Digivolve to... Digmon, the Drill of Knowledge!"

"Hawkmon Armor Digivolve to... Shurimon, the Samurai of Sincerity!"

"Patamon Digivolve to... Angemon!"

"Give them all your best, guys!" Davis called out as the six Champion and Armor digimons jumped forward to save their friends and battle Devidramon and Yashamon. ExVeemon, Stingmon and Digmon tackled Devidramon together, while Angemon, Gatomon and Shurimon fought the swordsman Yashamon. The Digidestined had the advantage of winning, since it was two against six digimons, and both Devidramon and Yashamon were not as strong as IceDevimon and FlameWizardmon. 

The six Rookies ran towards the Digidestined, seeking shelter from the heated battle. 

"Thanks, guys. We don't know what we'd done without you!" Agumon said.

"Don't mention it, guys. We're really glad that we could help. But now, you guys need to run away from here. It's not safe," Davis commented. 

"But we want to help you guys," Gabumon protested.

"I doubt you six can digivolve anytime soon, so it's best if you guys get going now," Ken said.

Agumon and the others relented finally, knowing that they would serve as a distraction if they stayed there any longer as the enemies would use them as targets to make their friends hesitate to attack. Meanwhile, the destined digimons were doing great, easily fighting the enemies. Yashamon found his match by battling Shurimon, as both were experts in martial arts. However, with Angemon and Gatomon to back him up, they were doing just find. A few Double Stars attack, combined with Hand of Fates and Lightning Claws whenever necessary and Yashamon was thrown away to the grounds, greatly wounded. The same thing happened with Devidramon as he was blasted continuously by ExVeemon's Vee Laser, Stingmon's Spiking Strike, and Digmon's Gold Rush attacks. 

"We're winning! We're actually winning!" Yolei cheered in delight.

"Yeah! Way to go guys!" Ken shouted happily.

Devidramon cocked his head towards the kids angrily. "This isn't over yet, meddling kids!" he yelled as he took off to the skies, grabbing Yashamon with his claws in the process. Devidramon flew away as quickly as possible.

"Now what was that all about?" Kari wondered.

T.K. knitted his eyebrows together. "I don't think I like this. It seems too easy."

"It could be a trap," Cody said. 

"We better get back, try to find Agumon and the others. I don't think I want to stick around here for so long," T.K. suggested. 

Just as they were about to make their way however, a fearsome roar was heard from nearby. The roar was loud enough to shock the Digidestined and the digimons and they had to cover their ears. Suddenly a massive jet of yellow and green energy blast cut through the trees and blasted Shurimon, Angemon and Digmon, immediately de-digivolving them back to Rookies upon impact, causing them to be hurled away with force. 

"What was that?!" Yolei asked shrilly. 

"Someone deliberately attacked us just now," Cody said. "Oh no, Armadillomon!" He quickly went over to retrieve his fallen partner.

"Patamon!" T.K. cried, and quickly catched his partner before he fell onto the grounds.

"Hawkmon!" Yolei cried and went over to him. Fortunately, neither him nor the other digimons were hurt. 

ExVeemon, Stingmon and Gatomon immediately took on fighting stances as they saw a tall, humanoid shadow emerged from the trees. From the darkness, they could make out a glowing pair of red eyes, and a lion-like figure. A Leomon-like figure to be exact. The figure stepped out from the trees, and the Digidestined found themselves meeting face to face with an unknown digimon, one they never had seen before. He bore some resemblances with Leomon, but while the latter was clad only in black leather trousers this digimon was armored all over, except for the head. He had orange-yellow mane, his skin took on a yellowish hue rather than Leomon's deep tan. The new digimon seemed to be equipped with weapons on his hands and legs, which added to his fearsome appearance. His expression was serious, yet calm in the same time. As the digimon walked towards them, those who stood somewhere on the right or left sides of the digimon could see a large silverish Black Gear stuck deep under the digimon's back. The digimon stood about the same height as ExVeemon and Stingmon.

"Who is this digimon?" Davis wondered and quickly searched the necessary information via his Diginizer.

**----------------- DIGIMON ANALYZER ------------------  
**Name : GrapLeomon  
Attribute : Vaccine  
Level : Ultimate  
  
Attacks : Lion Beast Killing Wave, Lion Whirlwind Kick  
Power Level : 72

Extra info : While Grap Leomon is Leomon's natural Ultimate form, this digimon resulted from the fusion between two digimons.  
------------------------------------------------------------------------

"GrapLeomon?" Ken asked. "It has to be Leomon!"

"That's correct, fools! I am the result of a permanent DNA Digivolution between Leomon and Ogremon!" GrapLeomon acknowledged with his dual voices, which Kari and T.K. recognized as being Leomon and Ogremon's voices mixed and blended together. The effect was an echoing deep voices, which sounded eerie and commanding at the same time. The Digidestined tried hard to find a hint of nobleness from the voices, which was Leomon's, but it was dominated by Ogremon's and the effects of the silverish Black Gear.

"It's the Black Gear!" T.K. exclaimed, recognized the item which he saw Devimon used so many times to possess innocent digimons during his early adventures on the island. "Be careful everyone, he's not himself even if he's part Leomon!"

The others were perplexed. Neither of them had seen a Black Gear infected digimon before. 

"So does that mean we have to fight him?" Davis asked.

"I afraid so," T.K. answered solemnly. "Or at least, remove the Black Gear. But this Black Gear is buried too deep inside him, I doubt we can get it out so easily without hurting GrapLeomon."

"Master Devimon will be so pleased when I hand him all of your lifeless forms to him," GrapLeomon said, sneering at the same time. His long fangs made him look ferocious. "Although he had ordered for me to spare the Digidestined and the digimon of Hope, as he would like to settle some old scores with him, I'll be glad to finish off the rest of you."

"Huh?" Both T.K. and Patamon were perplexed after hearing the statement.

Ex Veemon scoffed. "You have to get through us first!"

"Don't be cocky, ExVeemon! You know we're no match for him!" Stingmon warned. "We're no longer able to DNA digivolve to Ultimate, remember?"

"You're not, but I and Hawkmon can," Gatomon said. Looking directly at Hawkmon, she called. "Ready Hawkmon?"

Hawkmon looked at Yolei, waiting for approval. Yolei nodded slightly, although in her eyes Hawkmon recognized the feeling of worryness. "Be careful, Hawkmon," she said and held out her Diginizer of Love.

"Hawkmon Digivolve to... Aquilamon!"

"Aquilamon...!"

"Gatomon...!"

"... DNA Digivolve to... Silphymon!"

GrapLeomon snickered. "So you're the remaining DNA Digivolved digimon. Alas, you are no match for me."

Silphymon hovered in mid-air silently, analyzing his chances. 

**----------------- DIGIMON ANALYZER ------------------  
**Name : Silphymon  
Attribute : Data  
Level : Ultimate  
  
Attacks : Static Force, Astro Laser  
Power Level : 62

Extra info : This warrior of the sky results from the DNA Digivolution between Aquilamon and Gatomon, when Aquilamon is more dominant.  
------------------------------------------------------------------------

"He's no match for GrapLeomon," Davis muttered. "But maybe with the help of ExVeemon and Stingmon, Silphymon would stand a better chance." He then called out for ExVeemon and Stingmon to assist Silphymon in any way they could. 

"Take on this. Vee Laser!" ExVeemon initiated the first move by attacking Grap Leomon. 

Grap Leomon looked bored. "This is child's play," he said and deflected the attack using his Armor. "My armor's made of Chrome Digizoid, there's no way you can break through it."

"Spiking Strike!" Stingmon attacked from behind, aiming for the Black Gear.

"I don't think so." GrapLeomon retorted and punched Stingmon away. "Now, my turn. Lion Beast Killing Wave!!!" he bellowed, and the heavy armor on his hands rotated faster and faster until they crackled with electricity. From the orifices yellow and green massive beams of lights shot out, firing Stingmon full blast. Stingmon managed to block some with his own armor, but his wasn't made to withstand such attack. As the result, he was hurled towards the trees, crashing them in the process.

"He's too strong!" Stingmon growled as he tried to get up. 

Silphymon rose higher from the grounds as he was enveloped with pink aura. Flying towards GrapLeomon with the aura glowing around him, he then released the aura, which took on a form of himself towards GrapLeomon. "Static Force!"

GrapLeomon managed to withstand the attack, although not as effectively as he was able to block out Ex Veemon and Stingmon's.

"Seems like being a Data-type digimon has its own advantage," Silphymon remarked. He then generated a pink energy ball with both his palms positioned close together. "Astro Laser!!" he cried, and released the energy ball quickly before GrapLeomon managed to stop him. The attack hit GrapLeomon at the same spot where Silphymon's previous attack had hit him, and he was sent staggering backwards this time.

Yolei was worried. "He's still standing!"

"He's stronger than we thought!" Silphymon said worriedly. 

"You may have the advantage, but don't forget that I far exceed you in terms of power! Lion Beast Killing Wave!!" The same yellow and green jet of lights were blasted towards Silphymon, but the latter was agile and flew high above the grounds to avoid being hit. 

"Moon Shooter!!" Stingmon attempted his secret attack again towards Grap Leomon's back, sending hundreds of poisonous needles towards the Black Gear. The needles pricked the silverish Black Gear, but then the gear deflected back several needles back towards Stingmon, de-digivolving him back to Wormmon.

"Oh no! Wormmon!" Ken cried, trying to run towards his fallen partner. However, Davis restrained him.

"No Ken! It's too dangerous. Let ExVeemon get him for you!"

ExVeemon flew over Wormmon and took him back to his partner. 

"Are you okay Wormmon? You're stung by your own attack," Ken said.

"My own poison won't hurt me," Wormmon said reassuringly.

"Astro Laser!!" Silphymon bellowed and blasted his attack again. Grap Leomon however, managed to counter it with a smaller version of his trademark attack. 

"Now for some real treat," the possessed Ultimate digimon said. "Lion Whirlwind Kick!!" He yelled, and jumped into the air towards Silphymon. His right leg was raised upward and forward, and he spun himself forming a whirlwind around him. GrapLeomon then channeled the whirlwind through his extended leg before making a kicking motion towards Silphymon. The whirlwind, coupled with some electric bolts generated from GrapLeomon's leg armor, made its way towards Silphymon. Silphymon attempted to escape by flying away from it, but the whirlwend then expanded its size and successfully catching Silphymon in it. The warrior digimon was trapped inside the whirlwind's vortex while being electrocuted at the same time. 

"AAAHHH!!" Silphymon cried, the pain was unbearable. "Stop it!"

"I'm waiting, tick tock tick tock. Just de-digivolve already and I'll release you," GrapLeomon said mockingly. 

"Let him go!" Kari and Yolei both cried simultaneously. 

"ExVeemon, try to stop the whirlwind!" Davis instructed.

"I'll try Davis," Ex Veemon replied, and flew towards the whirlwind. Unfortunately, the whirlwind threw him back away upon contact.

"You meddling fool! Lion Beast Killing Wave!!" Ex Veemon was hit, and de-digivolved back to Veemon while was thrown to the grounds.

Silphymon attempted to break free from the whirlwind by enveloping himself with pink aura like he did before. The pink aura around him became more and more radiant, and soon the whirlwind seemed to be weaker. "Static... FORCE!!" Silphymon roared, and the pink aura around him exploded, deliberately destroying the whirlwind around him in process. 

GrapLeomon was shocked, but managed to hide it. "Very impressive, Silphymon. I can see now why Master Devimon wants to take away all of your DNA Digivolution abilities."

Silphymon smirked. "Now for Round Two."

"Do you honestly think you can defeat me, Silphymon?" GrapLeomon asked challengingly.

"So far I've done a good job about it, and I got my friends to back me up!" Silphymon replied.

"Your friends are no longer a threat. Not when they are in their Rookie forms!"

"I can still beat you."

"You have guts, Silphymon," GrapLeomon said.

Silphymon realized that GrapLeomon seemed to be stalling for time. "What are you up to, GrapLeomon?"

"Nothing."

"In that case... Astro Laser!!" Silphymon initiated the first move. 

GrapLeomon easily countered the attack, which bounced upon contact with the heavy armor on his hand. Eyes glinting redder, and the silver Black Ring flashed momentarily, GrapLeomon seemed to regain more power. "Is that all you got? I'm sure you can do better than that!"

Silphymon's face flushed red. "You're too cocky, you know that? Static Force!!"

"I have the right to be so," Grap Leomon said. "My turn. Lion Beast Killing Wave!!"

"Astro Laser!!" Silphymon fired another attack to counter the incoming blast from GrapLeomon.

The Digidestined watched the battle between the two Ultimates with hearts thumping wild. They knew that Grap Leomon was going easy with Silphymon, he was more powerful in terms of strength and power level. Yet, he was holding back.

"I think he's trying to drain Silphymon's powers," T.K. said loudly. "We haven't seen IceDevimon and the others around yet, right? What if this is a trap to weaken all of us before the major attack. Don't forget that Devimon himself is still around."

"Our chances are very slim," Ken agreed. "But it's very unlikely that GrapLeomon will allow Silphymon back off from the fight."

Unbeknownst to the Digidestined, two pairs of red eyes were eyeing them from deep within the forest. They were standing inside the shadows cast by the trees around the forest. In fact, what really marked their presence was their glowing eyes.

"I hope Silphymon's gonna be alright!" Yolei exclaimed worriedly, as all of them watched the more powerful GrapLeomon gave chase to the more agile Silphymon. One of Silphymon's major advantages, besides the fact that he was a Data type which made him strong against Vaccine type such as GrapLeomon, was flying. 

Two figures emerged from the shadows silently, still hidden inside the darkness cast by the shadows from the clouds above and the surrounding trees. They still were watching the fight.

"Don't worry Yolei, we still have Angewomon if Silphymon loses the fight," Davis said.

"That's pretty insensitive of you, Davis!" Yolei snapped back.

"I was trying to assure you," Davis said slowly.

Ken rushed in to stop the two friends from bickering. "I'm sure Davis meant well, Yolei, although it didn't really sound that way." 

Kari nodded. "Davis's right though..."

Davis was ecstatic, having Kari sided with him. "Well..."

"... if Gatomon's up to it. She and Hawkmon might drain all of their energy during the fight." Kari concluded.

Cody looked at Armadillomon. "Can you digivolve, Armadillomon?"

"I think so Cody. I still have some energy left!" Armadillomon replied.

"It looks like Silphymon is going to need all the help he can get. Let's do it!" Cody said and raised his Diginizer of Knowledge.

"Armadillomon Digivolve to... Ankylomon!"

"T.K., I want to fight as well!" Patamon implored. 

"You've expanded your energy by becoming Angemon just now. Let's try Armor Digivolving, they use less power," T.K. said and aimed his Diginizer of Hope towards Patamon.

"Patamon Armor Digivolve to... Pegasusmon, Flying Hope!"

"Not so fast! Frost Claw!" an icy voice bellowed from the forests. A figure in white zoomed towards them and attacked Pegasusmon right away, slashing at the Armor digimon's wings. However, the wings were made of metallic gold and were able to withstand such attacks.

"Pegasusmon! Jeez... what does IceDevimon had against my digimon anyway?!" T.K. cried angrily. 

"I'm okay T.K. Stand back! Star Shower!!" Pegasusmon retaliated, and sent showers of shooting stars towards Ice Devimon. Ice Devimon covered himself with his large wings from the attack.

"I'll help you, Pegasusmon! Megaton Press!!" Ankylomon exlaimed and galloped towards IceDevimon, attempting to crush him into deletion. The sheer brute force from Ankylomon sent IceDevimon flying, and Ankylomon had successfully stepped on one of his legs. A loud CRRAACCKKK was heard, and IceDevimon hollered in pain.

"How do you like that?!" T.K. yelled, a slight grin appeared on his face.

"That was too brutal," Cody said. "Although in this case we might want to make an exception."

"I'd say. Tail Hammer!!" Ankylomon slammed his spiked metallic ball which was attached to his tail down to Ice Devimon's face. Ice Devimon coughed up blood as he was already immobilized.

"Why you... " Ice Devimon said. "Zero..."

"Oh just shut up!" Ankylomon cut him quickly, placing one of his leg down to Ice Devimon's throat.

Pegasusmon hovered near Ankylomon. "This is the perfect time to finish him off once and for all."

"Fire Clouds!!!" A jet of flaming clouds suddenly shot out from the trees aiming towards Ankylomon. Pegasusmon shouted a warning, but it was too late as the clouds immediately blast Ankylomon away, removing him from IceDevimon. The pegasus digimon was about to fly up to safety when the same clouds appeared and knocked him to the grounds. A maniacal giggle was heard from the source of the attacks, and both Pegasusmon and Ankylomon saw FlameWizardmon stepped out from the trees, his expression smug.

"Did you miss me?" he asked smugly. Turning towards IceDevimon, he said, "Tsk tsk IceDevimon. How come you've been defeated so horribly. If the Master knows, well he always knows, but you're bringing shame to his name!"

"It wasn't like I purposely get myself to being defeated, FlameWizardmon!" IceDevimon barked. "You got the orb?"

"I sure do," FlameWizardmon answered with a hideous sneer, and took out a glowing red orb from his hand. 

Veemon and Wormmon's eyes widened in surprise, and Veemon smacked his forehead. "He's not gonna try that trick again, is he?"

"Better ask Silphymon to watch out, it was the same orb that caused us to lose our powers to DNA Digivolve. Although I thought it used to be black instead of red," Wormmon said.

"I'm afraid to say that this little orb here is a treat of ours, not yours!" FlameWizardmon said loftily. He held the orb up towards the sky. The red orb began to glimmer brighter. Thunders began to rumble from the clouds above, and lighnings bolted out fiercely. One lightning bolt had struck the red orb, making the orb flashed out bright crimson lights. Both Flame Wizardmon and Ice Devimon were raised from the grounds magically by an unknown force. 

"FlameWizardmon... !"

"IceDevimon...!"

"... DNA Digivolve to...!"

"Static Force!" Silphymon cried and fired yet another pink projection of himself towards GrapLeomon. Just like what happened before, the attack bounced off from GrapLeomon's armor.

"You just don't know how to give up, do you?" GrapLeomon asked wearily.

"I'll fight as long as it takes!" Silphymon declared.

"Your friends don't seem to be doing good," GrapLeomon said, and gestured to the site where the others were fighting IceDevimon and FlameWizardmon. Silphymon glanced backwards and to his shocked dismay, he saw the two evil digimons jumped in the air covered with crimson lights that seemed to be coming from a strange red orb which hovered in mid-air. IceDevimon changed into a streak of white light, with black aura radiating from it; while FlameWizardmon became a streak of red light, also with black aura surrounding him. The two streaks of lights shot up in the air and merged into a tall, skeletal humanoid being with ferocious expresion and black leather wings. Silphymon recognized the digimon instantly, he had been into a battle with the digimon six months ago.

"It's SkullSatamon!" he exclaimed, shocked. "This isn't good... even Imperialdramon had to go into his Fighter Mode to beat this guy!"

"Pretty impressive isn't he, for a bag-of-bones?" GrapLeomon inquired.

SkullSatamon, which resulted from the DNA Digivolution between FlameWizardmon and IceDevimon, stood even taller than either ExVeemon or Stingmon. Eyeing Ankylomon and Pegasusmon silently, he then immediately raised his staff.

"Nail Bone!!" he bellowed and thumped Ankylomon using the staff, with an unimaginable speed. Ankylomon instantly de-digivolved back to Armadillomon. SkullSatamon then leapt into air to chase Pegasusmon, and knocked Pegasusmon on the body with the staff, promptly changing him back to Patamon. 

"Hah! This will make you think twice before crossing path with me ever again," SkullSatamon said menacingly with dual voices, which blended perfectly to produce an eerie quality of the resulting voices. 

**----------------- DIGIMON ANALYZER ------------------  
**Name : SkullSatamon  
Attribute : Virus  
Level : Ultimate  
  
Attacks : Nail Bone  
Power Level : 75

Extra info : This evil digimon's awesome speed and strength makes him a dangerous villain.  
------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Well, seems like you all have been defeated!" SkullSatamon declared triumphantly. "Only the birdman digimon's left. He alone can't take on Grap Leomon alone, what chances do you think he'd have fighting against the both of us!"

"How can they DNA Digivolve in the first place?!" Yolei asked shrilly. "Isn't that supposed to be our digimons' unique ability, with help from Gatomon's Tail ring?"

SkullSatamon laughed. "Why, it's thanks to Paildramon and Shakkoumon, of course. Don't you remember the black orbs Ogremon had thrown into your bodies? Those orbs stripped you of your DNA Digivolution ability even though you have with help from our Master Devimon we harnessed the ability to do so. And here's the catch; even if you managed to destroy us you will lose your chances of regaining the power, and if you didn't manage to defeat us, you'll die!"

"What do we do now?" Cody asked in despair. "All of our digimons are no match against him!"

"I'm not giving up!" Silphymon declared. "I'll take on them alone if that is what it takes!"

"Such noble attempt, Silphymon, but you're way out of our league," SkullSatamon said menacingly. "You won't last more than a second facing both of us at the same time!" 

"Oh yeah? We'll see about that! Astro Laser!!" Silphymon blasted Skull Satamon with his trademark attack. Skull Satamon however, simply used his staff to knock away the energy ball, and quickly chased after Silphymon to knock him out with one blow. Grap Leomon joined in the chase, teaming up with Skull Satamon to beat Silphymon quickly. Thanks to his speed however, Silphymon managed to outrun his enemies but he knew he'd lose anyway.

Silphymon lured SkullSatamon away from the Digidestined, leading him towards the seashore by air. GrapLeomon couldn't fly after them, and resorted to chase them by land. He destroyed every tree which blocked his sight with his punch, and knocked down several trees at once using his Lion Beast Killing Wave.

"You've reached the end of the line, Silphymon!" Skull Satamon announced when they reached the beach. "It's now time to say goodbye!"

"Static Force!"

"Why don't you just give yourself up?" Skull Satamon continued calmly, evading the attack.

"Static Force!" 

"Can't you see it's useless!" He successfully evaded the attack again.

However Silphymon was quicker. "Astro Laser!" The attack was blasted straight towards Skull Satamon's face just after he evaded Silphymon's previous attack. 

"Oh that's it! I've had enough of you weakling. Feel my Nail...." SkullSatamon flew above Silphymon, attempting to knock Silphymon by the head using the Nail Bone attack. Silphymon, knowing that he'd lost, raised his right hand in an attempt to block any incoming attack while his left hand covered his eyes. 

"Nova Blast!!"

"Howling Blaster!!"

"Meteor Wing!!"

"Harpoon Torpedo!!"

"Electro Shocker!!"

"Needle Spray!!"

Six attacks coming from six different directions suddenly interrupted SkullSatamon's attempt to finish off Silphymon. His staff was knocked off by the attacks, and he himself was thrown off his balance into the sea. Furious, he saw that he was surrounded by six Champion digimons. On the skies were Birdramon and Kabuterimon, inside the sea was Ikkakumon, while on land were Greymon, Garurumon and Togemon. On the shore, near the three digimons stood six teenagers whom Skull Satamon noticed, were older than the Digidestined he'd seen before. He got out from the sea and stood in mid-air in silence for a while, analyzing his chances.

Grap Leomon emerged from the forests and ran towards the shore when he suddenly saw six Champion digimons closed in unnoticed by Skull Satamon and Silphymon. He skidded to a halt for a while, but when he heard the sounds of the Digidestined chasing him he quickly ran towards the shore. The Digidestined and their Rookie partners came out from the forest, yelling after GrapLeomon to stop when all six of them suddenly stopped. What they saw was totally unexpected.

"It's Tai and the others!" Kari exclaimed happily. 

"My brother's here too!" T.K. said in surprise.

"Sora, Izzy... even Joe... oh my God Mimi is here as well!!" Yolei shrieked in delight.

The six older Digidestined heard their names being called, and turned to face their juniors.

"Looks like we came just in time," Tai commented, and smiled at the sight of his younger sister.

"I'd say. We really need your help. Those digimons had beaten all of our digimons," Cody said.

"Gabumon and the others had told us everything. Luckily Izzy got the message sent by Gennai. Tai and I were there too, and we quickly contacted Joe and Sora. Unexpectedly at about the same time Mimi came over to Izzy's house," Matt informed them.

Mimi grinned. "Luckily my parents decided to have the summer holidays back here on Odaiba. I really missed being there, and it looks like there's another reason for my return here as well."

"I've just finished my last paper about an hour ago. So now I've started my holidays!" Joe declared.

"Prodigious! Such wonderful coincidences," Izzy remarked.

David nodded. "Look, can we talk about this later? I mean... " Davis then proceeded to tell the senior Digidestined the whole story of what had just happened to them, their digimons, and about their enemies. They were shocked to learn that ExVeemon, Stingmon, Angemon and Ankylomon had recently lost their ability to DNA Digivolve.

"This is really bad," Sora said. "Looks like all of us have to face Devimon together."

Tai thought for a while. "You know, Agumon can still Warp Digivolve to WarGreymon. He didn't exactly lost the powers given to him by Azulongmon yet."

"And Palmon can still become Lillymon. She wasn't present when the others gave out their powers to Imperialdramon," Mimi informed. She then gazed towards Kari with a glint in her caramel eyes. "Say, Kari... they say you're able to... fuse with Gatomon to become Angewomon?"

"Yeah. It's called Trans-Digivolution," Kari said.

"Cool. I'd like to see that soon," Mimi replied.

SkullSatamon and GrapLeomon were annoyed of being ignored by the Digidestined, while Silphymon retreated to be with the other digimons, and also to take a short break from the battle, which had been occuring for more than an hour.

Tai glanced at SkullSatamon. "I remember him! He's the digimon that even Imperialdramon couldn't defeat!"

Matt noticed GrapLeomon. "You said that that digimon is the result of the DNA Digivolution of Leomon and Ogremon, right?" 

"Yeah, and he's inflicted with the Black Gear," T.K. answered.

"All these years I've wished to meet Leomon and Ogremon back, but not under the circumstances such as this," Joe said sadly. "Both of them are good digimons."

SkullSatamon was growing impatient. "Since no one is going to start the party, I guess it's up to us now! Nail Bone!!" He attempted to get to Ikkakumon, who was the nearest to him. 

"Ack! Harpoon Torpedo!!" Ikkakumon retaliated, but he was too late as SkullSatamon knocked him on the face. He was sent splashing into the sea. 

"Lion Beast Killing Wave!!" GrapLeomon summoned, and aimed his attack towards the skies where Birdramon and Kabuterimon were hovering. Birdramon and Kabuterimon moved away from the path of the attack, and then decided to attack GrapLeomon together.

"Aim for the Black Gear, Birdramon!" Kabuterimon called. "Electro Shocker!"

"Right! Meteor Wings!!" Kabuterimon's attack, which was a large light blue energy ball with purple electrical bolts around it, joined Birdramon's showers of meteors towards Grap Leomon. Birdramon couldn't focus her attacks on the Black Gear as her attacks were meant for large opponents or for hitting two or more digimons at once. Kabuterimon's attack however hit the Black Gear, but it bounced upon target.

"It's useless to do that, fools!" GrapLeomon roared.

"Nail Bone!!" SkullSatamon appeared within a blink of the eye in front of Garurumon, and swiped him off his feet instantly by his staff, knocking the wolf's head in the process. "Nail Bone!!" Next was Togemon, whom SkullSatamon sent flying with the hit of the staff.

"Nova Blast!!" Greymon roared before Skull Satamon managed to get to him. The attack distracted SkullSatamon who after being hit by the attack, decided to handle Greymon first beforehand.

Tai held out his Digivice. "This doesn't look good, SkullSatamon is more powerful than I've anticipated. Greymon, digivolve now!"

"Right, Tai!" Greymon agreed and Tai's Digivice glowed with bright red lights. "Greymon Digivolve to... MetalGreymon!!"

"Togemon, ready for another digivolution?!" Mimi called towards her partner while holding out her Diginizer.

"You bet, Mimi. I can't wait to become Lillymon, then I can kick this SkullSatamon's butt!" Togemon replied. Green lights emerged from Mimi's digivice towards Togemon. "Togemon Digivolve to... Lillymon!!" Instantly, the giant cactus digimon was replaced by a petite airborne fairy digimon. Lillymon hovered close to MetalGreymon.

"With two Ultimates with us, we're sure gonna win this one," Davis said determinedly. 

**----------------- DIGIMON ANALYZER ------------------  
**Name : MetalGreymon  
Attribute : Vaccine  
Level : Ultimate  
  
Attacks : Giga Blaster, Mega Claw  
Power Level : 75

Extra info : A perfect fusion of a living digimon and machine results into the Chrome-Digizoid armored MetalGreymon!  
------------------------------------------------------------------------

**----------------- DIGIMON ANALYZER ------------------  
**Name : Lillymon  
Attribute : Data  
Level : Ultimate  
  
Attacks : Flower Cannon, Flower Wreath  
Power Level : 63

Extra info : This magnificient fairy is born from the flower on top of Togemon's head.  
------------------------------------------------------------------------

"You've said it," Veemon agreed.

Skull Satamon was perplexed of having Metal Greymon, Lillymon and Silphymon closing up on him, while the remaining four Champions cornered Grap Leomon. However he managed to conceal his surprise by holding off for a while, his staff held tight in his right hand while he watched his opponents with alert eyes.

"So you've decided to play three to one now?" he asked.

"Don't waste time, guys! Attack him now!" Tai ordered.

Lillymon flew past MetalGreymon and Silphymon. "Ladies first!" she said, and winked. The nature fairy then soared to the skies and her hands began to form a yellow flower petal, which opened to reveal a small cannon. "Flower Cannon!!" Lillymon however, didn't put too much strength on her attack. Instead, she merely watched with a slight flicker of a smile as she nodded towards MetalGreymon.

"Surely you can do better than that, little girl!" SkullSatamon roared as he swiped the attack away with his staff, and attempted to chase after Lillymon.

"Oh, I don't have to, bonehead," Lillymon replied. "Why would I do that when I got two boys to do that for me?"

"Wha--?" SkullSatamon asked before he was blasted from the back with attacks enough to send him flying. Enraged, he saw Metal Greymon and Silphymon behind him, a triumphant look on their face. "You're gonna pay for that!"

"You're all talk SkullSatamon!" Silphymon declared. "Static Force!!"

"Giga Blaster!!" MetalGreymon joined in. The two attacks again hit Skull Satamon with full force, sending him flying towards Lillymon.

"He's all yours, Lillymon!" Silphymon called.

Lillymon scowled. "Oh please! Flower Cannon!!" She blasted the in-coming Skull Satamon with her cannon, sending the skeletal satanic digimon away from her. "I hate to think of even being close to him!!" she called back to Silphymon.

"Yeah?! Then let's just finish him off shall we?" MetalGreymon answered. "Giga Blaster!!" 

SkullSatamon grew weaker after being attacked about five times in a row. His vision became blurred and he was having a hard time to even clear his vision, which made him vulnerable to the attacks launched non-stop by MetalGreymon, Lillymon and Silphymon. He was furthermore enraged after hearing the conversations between his opponents, which made a fool out of him. Summoning his remaining powers, he felt relieved as the pains from the attacks began to fade, and his vision became much clearer. He prepared himself in a fighting stance.

"What's happening? It looks like he's healed!" Lillymon gasped.

"This doesn't look good," MetalGreymon said warily as he fixed his gaze towards SkullSatamon.

"Let --- " Suddenly, Silphymon's words were cut off as Skull Satamon closed in on him with a blink of the eye. 

"Skull Hammer!!" he thudded Silphymon's head full-force with his staff, sending Silphymon to the grounds. He then chased after the falling Silphymon and raised his staff again. A menacing smile began to form on his ugly face. "This is for making the fool out of me, Silphymon! Nail Bone!!" The staff's yellow orb on its proximal end flashed slightly before hitting Silphymon again on the head. The second attack, which was more powerful than the first, blasted Silphymon straight to the grounds causing a small explosion as he hit the grounds, sending clouds of dust everywhere. Skull Satamon looked satisfied, watching as the dusts cleared to reveal the unconscious Salamon and Poromon. 

"Oh no! Salamon!!" Kari cried.

"Poromon!!" Yolei rushed to get his partner. 

"A work well done," SkullSatamon muttered to himself, and turned his attention towards MetalGreymon and Lillymon. "Now, who's next?" he asked with a sneer. 

"You're really twisted, you know that?!" Lillymon said angrily after watching what had happened to Silphymon. "I'll make you pay for what you'd done to them! Flower Cannon!!"

Skull Satamon evaded the attack easily before moving with great speed towards Lillymon. "Nail Bone!!" he bellowed, and paralyzed Lillymon with his attack, immobilizing her. Seizing this chance, he struck the helpless Lillymon again with his staff, sending her flying to the grounds before de-digivolving to Palmon.

"Palmon!!" Mimi cried worriedly over her partner. "Are you okay?"

Palmon opened her eyes wearily. "I think so..." she said and got up slowly.

"Two down, and a MetalGreymon to go!" Skull Satamon declared.

Tai was worried that MetalGreymon would receive the same fate that Silphymon and Lillymon had. He looked up and idea occured to him. He raised his digivice to the sky to recall back Metal Greymon's powers. Metal Greymon descended slowly to the grounds, his body glowed with yellow lights as he de-digivolved back to Agumon.

"Hey, what happened Tai? Why don't you let me fight him?" Agumon asked confusedly.

"I just think you're gonna need a power boost for this battle. Ready for some Warp-Digivolving?" Tai asked.

Agumon's expression brighthened. "Yeah! Let's show that bag-of-bones what we're made of!" Agumon then was covered with a nimbus of brilliant gold lights emerging from Tai's Digivice. "Agumon Warp Digivolve to... WarGreymon!!" 

"Finally! A Mega Digimon on our side!" Davis said.

**----------------- DIGIMON ANALYZER ------------------  
**Name : WarGreymon  
Attribute : Vaccine  
Level : Mega  
  
Attacks : Great Tornado, Terra Force, Mega Claw, Dramon Destroyer  
Power Level : 95

Extra info : WarGreymon is the highest digivolutionary form of Agumon, and is thought to be one of the most powerful digimon partnered to a Digidestined.  
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile, the other four Champion digimons were having a harder time to fight GrapLeomon. Their only chance was that the fact that there were many of them, which made attacking from different angles possible. Garurumon had taken the position on land, while Ikkakumon attacked from the sea. Both Birdramon and Kabuterimon hovered on the sky attacking GrapLeomon from above.

"If only I can Warp Digivolve as well," Garurumon said after seeing Agumon became WarGreymon. "I can easily beat this push over!"

"Don't give up now, Garurumon!" Birdramon called. 

"Who says I'm gonna to? Howling Blaster!!" Garurumon attacked GrapLeomon again.

As if on cue, the other three digimons fired away their trademarks as well towards the evil lion warrior digimon. Kabuterimon had aimed his Electro Shocker towards the Black Gear again, but as usual the attack was deflected upon contact.

"Some digimon never learn," GrapLeomon said, and charged towards Garurumon, who was close enough for him to attack, "Lion Whirlwind Kick!!" Garurumon was hurled away, knocking over the big rocks on the shore.

"Garurumon!!" Matt called over his partner worriedly.

"I'm okay Matt! Just.. ugggh... WET!!" Garurumon exclaimed in annoyance.

"Meteor Wings!!" Birdramon fired her attack, knowing that she was advantageous in the battle as her opponent could not fly. However being weaker, her attacks had almost no effect on the stronger Grap Leomon.

"How are we going to beat this guy?" Sora wondered.

"Don't give up, Kabuterimon!" Izzy shouted.

"Ikkakumon, attack the Black Gear again!" Joe instructed.

Ikkakumon did as he was told, but again the attack was deflected. "It's no use!" he growled.

"Like I said, you never learn," GrapLeomon said and proceeded by attacking Ikkakumon in the same manner he attacked Garurumon earlier. 

WarGreymon and SkullSatamon stood in midair, watching each other with deep loathing. SkullSatamon hadn't expected WarGreymon and had earlier used almost all of his powers to knock away Silphymon and Lillymon, but he couldn't de-digivolve digimons far superior than him. WarGreymon was a Mega level digimon, and being a Vaccine type made him had a better chance of winning.

"Nail Bone!!" SkullSatamon attempted to paralyze WarGreymon, but the Mega simply brushed him off.

"Don't you think it's getting really old?" WarGreymon growled and spun himself quickly, forming an orange-colored tornado around him. He then launched himself towards SkullSatamon. "Great Tornado!!"

"Skull Hammer!!" SkullSatamon countered. The result was that SkullSatamon was hurled a great distance away due to impact, while WarGreymon mearly staggered a bit.

WarGreymon smirked, although it was impossible to tell because his face was masked. "Never thought of that," he said. 

SkullSatamon panted slightly. He was losing energy as time passed by.

WarGreymon seemed to notice this, and attacked again. "Dramon Destroyer!!" he bellowed and hurled his sharp claws towards SkullSatamon. WarGreymon was so fast SkullSatamon hadn't enough time to move out of way, thus he was severely slashed at the upper right arm and upper torso.

"Not a Dramon, but worked nevertheless," WarGreymon noted in satisfaction, as SkullSatamon began to shimmer. Seconds later, he de-digivolved back to IceDevimon and FlameWizardmon, who were both so shocked of the outcome.

"What happened?" FlameWizardmon wondered.

"We've lost the power!" IceDevimon cried in rage. Compared to FlameWizardmon who looked unscathed, he was severely hurt from his battle with Ankylomon and Pegasusmon earlier.

"Which makes it a lot easier for me to destroy you two," WarGreymon said, causing both evil digimons to panic. WarGreymon raised both hands up towards the sky, forming a gigantic orange glowing fireball. "Terra Force!!"

"I love this part," Tai said, as WarGreymon hurled the Terra Force attack towards IceDevimon and FlameWizardmon. The attack hit IceDevimon first, and deleted him before going towards FlameWizardmon who suffered the same outcome. Their data particles disappeared within the thick purple clouds, and WarGreymon descended towards the Digidestined and the fallen digimons.

"Woo hoo! Way to go WarGreymon!!" Davis cried happily.

"Good job pal," Tai said with a grin.

"It looks like the battle isn't over yet!" WarGreymon said, and flew over towards where the four Champions were battling GrapLeomon.

With Garurumon and Ikkakumon down, only Birdramon and Kabuterimon were left to battle GrapLeomon. As the possesed lion warrior digimon was about to attempt attacking Kabuterimon, the clouds began to blow strong winds which was too strong for Birdramon and Kabuterimon to resist. The two airborne digimon were blown to the grounds, but that was the least of the Digidestined's worries. Lightnings crackled from the clouds, and to the astonishment of the Digidestined, the digimons, and even GrapLeomon, Devimon's face appeared on the air, fifty times magnified.

"GrapLeomon, return to base. We have bigger plans!" the apparation of Devimon ordered.

GrapLeomon lowered his head in respect. "Yes, Master Devimon!" Without wasting any more time, he abandoned the digimons and flew away towards the Infinity Mountain.

"Devimon!" TK exclaimed with a tone of mixed hatred and surprise.

"Well, well, well. I certainly didn't expect this! The old and new Digidestined together on this island!" Devimon said, completely ignoring TK. Devimon's eyes flashed deep crimson, and his mouth broke into a sneer. "Perfect!"

"What are you up to, Devimon?!" Tai demanded.

"To settle some old scores," Devimon said simply, and shifted his attention towards TK. "With the Child of Hope!"

"Oh no! First you've got to get through me!" Matt shouted.

"All of us!" Davis added.

Devimon looked amused. "Very well then. Let's see what you all got. I'll be waiting for you at the Infinity Mountain." The apparation then vanished with a blink of the eye, and instantly the clouds calmed down, no longer shooting out lightnings or winds. The Digidestined were left dumbfounded of what Devimon had just said before he disappeared.


	12. Devimon Strikes Back V

**DISCLAIMER: ** I don't own Digimon Adventures, Digimon 02, Digimon World 2 and 3. 

Note: Finally, the last chapter of Devimon Strikes Back. 

** ***************************

** VENGEANCE   
  
- Chapter 11 - Devimon Strikes Back, Part V -  
  
by **

** Alforce Zero**

Before going to the Infinity Mountain using the Diginizers' teleportation abilities, the Digidestined and digimons scoured the forests first for food to replenish their energies. Thanks to Palmon and Gomamon mostly, they had managed to gather wild fruits, nuts, berries, and fishes enough for all ten Digidestined and digimons. The guys had brought over some firewoods and water while the girls cooked the foods for all of them. Poor Salamon and Poromon however still haven't awoken from their unconscious states. They saved up some food for their fallen friends and discussed about what would they do once they reached Infinity Mountain.

"It's a good thing that now we can teleport there instantly with the Diginizers. I remember during our times we have to cross the seas, fly, and climb the mountain ourselves to get there," Tai reminisced, and related the event when Devimon broke a portion of File Island into smaller isles. 

T.K. frowned. "From what Devimon had said earlier, he really wants to have his revenge on me and Patamon, for causing his death four years ago. I just wish I and Patamon are able to achieve the Trans-Digivolution ability like Kari and Gatomon, then maybe we can stand a chance."

"Are you forgetting that you have the rest of us around here, T.P.?" Davis asked in annoyance. "Don't you go playing hero out there."

"Funny to hear that coming from you Davis," T.K. remarked. "But you heard Devimon, he wants Patamon and I."

"There's a lot of us and only one of him!" Davis argued.

"You're forgetting about GrapLeomon," Cody interjected to avoid the two teens from continue arguing. "Not to mention, those digimons we haven't deleted yet, like Yashamon and Devidramon."

"Those two cowards won't be able to fight all of us," Veemon replied. "Even if we all can only digivolve to our Champion stages."

"You're probably right, but as far as I know if Devimon wants something he'd go to great length to make sure to get it. Devimon alone was able to defeat six Champion digimons easily," Matt said, remembering how they were beaten by Devimon. "He really wanted to destroy Patamon before he managed to become Angemon, who was prophecized as his destruction."

"Maybe that's why he's still out to get T.K. and Patamon. They were meant to destroy him," Sora said.

"But now we even have two Ultimates and a Mega with us," Mimi said. 

"I'm not sure Salamon and Poromon are up to becoming Silphymon again anytime soon," Izzy reasoned. "And with Salamon in her current condition, there's no way she and Kari can Trans-Digivolve to Angewomon."

"Devimon sure had it all planned out," Ken said slowly as he watched Yolei and Kari, who were both craddling their unconscious partners.

"It really feels like the old times, don't you think?" Mimi asked. "All of us being here together to fight Devimon again? I even flew all the way from the States without even knowing what had happened in the Digital World."

The others murmured their agreement and continued talking again to let their digimons rest. The final battle with Devimon was about to begin, and they needed all the rest they could get to regain their energies. Soon Salamon and Poromon woke up, but they still felt weak even after eating the foods, and would need longer time to rest. 

*****************************

"This is completely unacceptable! How can you let those brats destroy FlameWizardmon and IceDevimon?! You two could've helped them instead of running off! Both of you are a complete disgrace!!"

Devimon was furious with having two of his strongest servants destroyed, and was venting his anger towards the last remaining two members of his formerly six-membered servants, Yashamon and Devidramon.

"We're sorry, master. They were too strong for us, what more with the addition of their senior fellow Digidestined. One of the digimon even had the ability to Warp Digivolve into Mega, it was the Mega who had deleted FlameWizardmon and IceDevimon," Yashamon said with a small tone, eyes fixed on the floor for he didn't dare meet Devimon's gaze. Devidramon decided to keep his silence.

GrapLeomon, who was standing in the shadows inside the hall of Devimon's fortress, stepped out into the places where some small ammount of lights penetrated from the windows. "The Mega digimon, WarGreymon, is even more powerful than SkullSatamon who was only an Ultimate. These two won't even stand a chance." This statement caused Devidramon and Yashamon to glare towards GrapLeomon furiously.

"Speak for yourself, GrapLeomon. You couldn't even handle four Champions!" Devidramon spat.

"Oh? And I suppose the two of you have done better jobs? You two couldn't even take care of six Rookies!!" 

"ENOUGH!!" Devidramon bellowed. "The last thing I want around here is my own servants fighting each other!"

"My apologies, Master Devimon," GrapLeomon said and knelt to the floors.

"Forgive us, Master," Devidramon and Yashamon followed suit.

Devimon nodded. "In one day, the Digidestined had deleted four of my servants. However, are they up to the task of destroying their own friends?" He laughed, and made a slight gesture with his right hand-claw. From the doorway at the farthest end of the hall, entered Meramon, Frigimon, Mojyamon, Unimon, three Bakemons (one of them larger than the other two) and Elecmon. All of them were not quite visible inside the dark hall, the only indicator that marked their presence was their glowing crimson eyes. The eerie lights coming from their eyes were just about enough to make out their silhoutte out of the darkness, and on their backs were the Black Gears which were used to control their minds and actions. 

"Their powers had greatly increased my own power," Devimon stated. "But other than that they're useless. Those children can easily defeat them, given their experiences. I'm counting on you, Devidramon and Yashamon to handle them, but leave the Child of Hope to me."

GrapLeomon nodded. "As you wish, Master Devimon." 

"It's a pity WarGreymon destroyed FlameWizardmon and IceDevimon, because they had absorbed the DNA Digivolution powers of the Digidestined's digimons. With their destruction, the DNA Digivolution power was gone as well," Devimon said with a tone of disappointment. 

Devidramon perched closer to Devimon and extended his right claw, which seemed to be clutching something. "Master, I've picked this up from the forests. It's a red orb which they used to DNA Digivolve."

"Really?" Devimon said as he took the red orb from Devidramon. The red orb wasn't as bright as it was before, instead it took on a rather blackish hue of red. "It seems like there's little amount of DNA Digivolution power left within this orb. This must be the orb containing the DNA Digivolution powers of ExVeemon and Stingmon, as they are the more powerful duo than the other. It's a good thing you've found the orb, Devidramon."

"Thank you, Master," Devidramon said and returned to his earlier position beside Yashamon.

"It needs a small ammount of power boost in order to enable you two to DNA Digivolve as well, so..." Devidramon waved his hand slightly, drawing the powers from the Black Gears perched on the enslaved digimons except for GrapLeomon. He then channeled the powers inside the black-red orb, energizing it back to full power and returning it to it's former bright red state.

** ***************************

Four hours had passed and it was an hour before midnight. The digimons and the Digidestined had rested and eaten enough, and all of them were ready for the big fight coming ahead of them. Well, except for Salamon and Poromon. They still felt weak after their last fight, but according to them they would have no problem to ascend up to their Champion forms, but DNA Digivolution and TransDigivolution would be nearly impossible as they would need to recuperate longer. Poromon had enough energy to become Hawkmon again, but Salamon decided to save her energy until at the battle scene.

"The seniors will each need to hold on to each one of us so that they'll be teleported there as well," Davis informed to the senior Digidestined, at the same time explaining about the functions of the Diginizers while they listened intently. Then, Tai and Agumon held on to Kari; Matt and Gabumon stood close to T.K.; Izzy and Tentomon positioned themselves around their crest successor Cody while Joe and Gomamon held onto Ken; Sora and Biyomon stood close to Yolei, and finally Mimi and Palmon both grabbed Davis's left arm and leg.

"You're not the bearer of Sincerity," Mimi said. "But you'll do," she added cheekily.

"Gee... thanks," Davis replied, blushing slightly. "Everyone ready? Here we go!" He touched the third red button of the Diginizer and instantly he, Veemon, Mimi and Palmon turned to four jets of serene blue lights and soared towards the skies towards Infinity Mountain. T.K., Kari, Ken, Cody and Yolei then followed suit, and all of them were then transported to Infinity Mountain in a series of green, pink, black, yellow and red jets of lights respectively. All of them landed at the foot of the mountain.

"Why didn't we just teleport all the way up to the mountain?" Agumon questioned as he looked up towards the mountain's peak. 

"So that we wouldn't be taken by surprise up there. Who knows, maybe Devimon had assembled all digimons in his army up there," Tai answered. He then looked at Davis. "Well, give out the command now, Davis."

"Right on!" Davis said exuberantly, and assumed his usual pose. "Diginizer Energize!!" The other junior Digidestined did the same, while the six senior Digidestined held out their Digivices towards their partner digimons. Upon Davis's command, the Diginizers and the Digivices showered the digimons with brilliant lights, energizing all the digimons with the powers of digivolution.

"Veemon Digivolve to... ExVeemon!!"

"Wormmon Digivolve to... Stingmon!!"

"Armadillomon Digivolve to... Ankylomon!!"

"Hawkmon Digivolve to... Aquilamon!!"

"Salamon Digivolve to... Gatomon!!"

"Patamon Digivolve to... Angemon!!"

"Gabumon Digivolve to... Garurumon!!"

"Biyomon Digivolve to... Birdramon!!"

"Tentomon Digivolve to... Kabuterimon!!"

"Gomamon Digivolve to... Ikkakumon!!"

"Palmon Digivolve to... Togemon!! Togemon Digivolve to... Lillymon!!"

"Agumon Warp Digivolve to... WarGreymon!!"

The sight of ten fully-digivolved Champion digimons, one Ultimate, and one Mega digimon was truly a sight to behold. They looked impressive, and all were eager to battle the first evil digimon they'd faced four years before. However, none could rival the eagerness of Angemon and T.K. to battle Devimon.

"Today'll be the day, Angemon," T.K. said with high spirits towards his partner digimon. "Devimon is as good as gone!"

Angemon merely nodded, slightly distracted by thunders that rumbled from the thick purple clouds above the mountain. He was gazing at the top of Infinity Mountain, as if expecting Devimon to pop out from the peak anytime soon. 

"We'll get him together, Angemon," Gatomon said as she walked towards Angemon, followed closely by Ankylomon, Aquilamon, ExVeemon and Stingmon, and ultimately, by the other six digimons as well. Angemon nodded again and attempted a half-smile.

"It took me my own life to destroy him last time," Angemon said slowly. "Only to find out that he wasn't exactly destroyed. This time around, I will make sure that he would be gone!"

"That's the spirit," WarGreymon said. "We're all behind you."

"Count on it," Garurumon said.

They then teleported towards the peak of the Infinity Mountain. In the meantime, the winds began to blow strong from the clouds. When all of them appeared at the top of the mountain, they were appaled at the sight of Devimon, already waiting for their arrival. He looked just the same as before, only that he was glowing with a black aura around him. His eyes were glowing crimson. Devimon, for a Champion, looked fearsome as if he was a Mega digimon. To add into the building suspence were the two Ultimate digimons who were standing on each of Devimon's side. One of them was GrapLeomon, the other one however, was an Ultimate digimon whom the Digidestined had never expected. 

"It can't be! How on earth Devimon could have that vile digimon on his side!" WarGreymon snarled, fixing his eyes onto the large skeletal dinosaur like digimon who was nearly four times his size. WarGreymon found himself standing face-to-face with his very own evil Ultimate level alter-ego - SkullGreymon.

"Surprised? I see you already know SkullGreymon," Devimon said silkily. "He's the result of the DNA Digivolution of Devidramon and Yashamon."

"He's mine," WarGreymon declared.

"Devimon, your presence has disrupted the balance of the forces of good in this island, and the sector as a whole! It is my duty to banish you forever from the Digital World!" Angemon exclaimed and stepped out from the team, and hovered in mid-air. Holding his golden rod, Angemon fixed his attention solely towards Devimon.

"Angemon, we meet again," Devimon said with a slight sneer which then contorted into a malovelent scowl. "I doubt you can ever beat me, Angemon, as my powers have grown much more stronger over the years I've spent trapped inside that whirlpool."

T.K. decided to check Devimon's information with the Digimon Analyzer.

**----------------- DIGIMON ANALYZER ------------------  
**Name : Devimon  
Attribute : Virus  
Level : Champion  
  
Attack : Touch of Evil  
Power Level : 80

Extra Info : This devilish digimon had the power to turn digimons evil with his Black Gears, and make them do his bidding.  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

"There must be a mistake!" T.K. said in disbelief. "How can Devimon have such high power level when he is a Champion?"

"In that case, we simply have to take him down together," Davis said. 

Devimon laughed hard after hearing what Davis had just said. "I highly doubt that, foolish boy!" Devimon then raised both hands into the skies, and the black aura glowing around him became more intense and Devimon grew larger and larger until he was as tall as the Infinity Mountain himself. The Digidestined gasped in shock.

"We-- are -- in trouble," Davis choked out.

SkullGreymon and GrapLeomon then both leaped towards the Digidestined, attempting to crush all of them using brute force. Fortunately the digimons and Digidestined managed to move out from danger, and instantly a raging battle started between the two Ultimate evil digimons and the Destined digimons, except for Angemon.

WarGreymon immediately engaged himself into a battle with SkullGreymon, determined to destroy him quickly so that he would be able to help Angemon fighting Devimon. He was helped by his fellow friends. Meanwhile, GrapLeomon found himself battling five Champion digimons and instantly summoned for the Black Gear digimons to help him. 

"Terra Force!!" WarGreymon fired a large fiery orange energy ball towards SkullGreymon. The attack blasted SkullGreymon instantly, but aparts from a few splinters on his bones SkullGreymon remained unscathed. 

"Is that the best you can do? You disappoint me, WarGreymon, I expect better attacks from a Mega! Take this. Dark Shot!!" SkullGreymon retaliated. The attacks collided with WarGreymon's another attempted Terra Force.

"WarGreymon! Don't use up your energy on him!" Garurumon warned as he leaped in front of WarGreymon. "Howling Blaster!!"

"Weakling! You dare to fight me?" SkullGreymon growled as he deflected Garurumon's attack.

"Meteor Wing!!" Birdramon decided to attack from the air.

"Electro Shocker!!" Kabuterimon joined in, and the two attacks combined to produce a spectacular energy blasts which collided with SkullGreymon's Dark Shot, vaporizing the organic torpedo instantly upon contact, and hit SkullGreymon on his face.

"Good aim, guys!" Both Sora and Izzy shouted in delight.

Lillymon in the meantime, was hovering behind of SkullGreymon. "If I destroy the cannon deployer then SkullGreymon won't have anything to attack us with," she reasoned with herself. A flower bloomed on her hands, which opened up to reveal a cannon. "Flower Cannon!!" she blasted the cannon launcher with her attack, and destroyed it.

"Aaaarggh! You wretched little fairy digimon!" SkullGreymon snarled angrily and in pain, and slapped Lillymon with his strong skeletal claws. Lillymon was sent flying before she landed on the grounds with a loud thud, de-digivolving back into Palmon. He then attempted to step on Palmon, who was too weak to move.

"That's no way to treat a lady!" Ikkakumon exclaimed. "Harpoon Torpedo!!"

"Howling Blaster!!" 

"Meteor Wing!!"

"Electro Shocker!!"

The four attacks blasted SkullGreymon away from Palmon, and while SkullGreymon was sent flying WarGreymon took the opportunity to end the fight. "Terra Force!!" He launched the massive fireball, which deleted SkullGreymon instantly.

GrapLeomon in the meantime fared much better than his fellow comrade, having only five Champion digimons to handle. However, he was especially wary of Ankylomon who had tried to stomp him and Gatomon attempting to hypnotize him with her eyes, so the two digimons were the first to be defeated. ExVeemon then attacked GrapLeomon with his Vee Laser, followed by Aquilamon and Stingmon with their respective attacks, but all of them were holding back, as GrapLeomon was formerly their ally. They tried to keep GrapLeomon at bay, and finally Stingmon resorted to his secret attack again after ExVeemon and Aquilamon both de-digivolved into their Rookie forms after receiving GrapLeomon's powerful killing wave attack.

"Hope this works," Stingmon said to himself. "Moon Shooter!!" He fired hundreds of silver poisonous needles towards GrapLeomon at close proximity. All the needles were jabbed into GrapLeomon's chest, and the lion howled in pain as the poison worked itself into GrapLeomon's system, draining him of all his powers. Stingmon then de-digivolved back into Wormmon. The remaining two Champions who were defeated earlier, Ankylomon and Gatomon, immediately saw their chances to defeat GrapLeomon while he was being drained of his energy. Ankylomon immobilized GrapLeomon by stomping on him, while Gatomon hypnotized GrapLeomon to render him harmless for the time being.

Angemon hovered in mid-air, preparing to battle the overgrown Devimon. 

"Not easily intimidated aren't you, Angemon?" Devimon asked and loomed his right claw towards Angemon, who evaded the attack.

"I'm not scared of you!" Angemon said with determination. "Like I said earlier, I'm gonna take you down! Hand of Fate!!" Angemon launched a ray of pure energy beam towards Devimon, who countered it easily with his large claws.

"You're no match for me!" Devimon snarled. "It took you your own life back then to merely reduce me into a data spirit. Now, I am more powerful that even if you sacrifice yourself you won't be able to destroy me! Prepare to meet your doom, Angemon!" Devimon instantly swatted Angemon away, sending him crashing onto the mountains. He then fired a pure black energy ball filled with the power of evil towards Angemon, who hadn't enough time to either counter or evade the attack, and thus was blasted again.

"Say goodbye to your precious wings, Angemon!" Devimon fired two jets of red energy beams from his eyes, and scorched Angemon's pure white wings, burning them instantly with black flames. 

"AAAAHHHHH!!" Angemon cried in pain, unable to stay airborne any longer and fell crashing on the grounds.

"Angemon!!" T.K. cried. "You monster!" he yelled at Devimon. He ran towards his fallen partner, whose wings were burning. T.K. desperately tried to extinguish the black flames by pouring earth and sand onto the wings, but to no avail. The flames seemed to possess some kind of magical attribute to itself which prevent it from being extinguished.

WarGreymon and Garurumon suddenly leaped from out of nowhere, attempting to protect T.K. and Angemon. 

"Terra Force!!"

"Howling Blaster!!"

Devimon evaded WarGreymon's attack, but countered Garurumon's attack easily with his claws.

"Touch of Evil!!" he snarled viciously, and slashed both WarGreymon and Garurumon with both claws. Garurumon de-digivolved back into Gabumon, but WarGreymon, being stronger, was able to withstand the attack. However the fight he had with SkullGreymon earlier had taken some of his energy. Birdramon, Ikkakumon and Kabuterimon attempted to attack Devimon once again, but all of them were no match of him and were knocked out cold. While unconscious, they reverted back to their Rookie stages.

"When can you see, foolish beings, that neither of you are a match for me!" 

WarGreymon stood up. "You still haven't defeated me, Devimon!" 

"In that case, goodbye!!" Devimon fired crimson beams from his eyes, but WarGreymon quickly covered himself with his shield to protect himself. Unexpectedly, the beams shattered the shield which was emblazoned with the symbol of Courage. WarGreymon was utterly shocked, but refused to give up, while the other digimons watched helplessly.

"Terra Force!!" 

Devimon evaded the attack again. "This, will not do!" he said angrily. His eyes began to glow bright red. Strong winds blew from the purple clouds and Devimon seemed somehow to absorb the powers from the winds, as the black aura glowing around him began to change into deep red. His whole body was enveloped with the deep red aura, and the Digidestined and digimons felt a sudden dread, knowing for sure that Devimon was about to digivolve, although not any of them had seen Devimon did that.

"It can't be ---" T.K. whispered in disbelief.

"Devimon Digivolve to..."

The glowing figure of Devimon began to grow slightly larger before revealing Devimon's new look. The newly digivolved form of Devimon didn't look much different from his former state. His white hair had grown longer, and his tattered black wings were now crimson. His face was covered by a silver metallic mask, showing three pairs of gleaming red eyes. The outfit didn't undergo much changes as well. However, Devimon looked more dangerous and malovelent while in this form, and even WarGreymon suddenly dreaded battling with him any longer.

"NeoDevimon!!"

"If Devimon digivolved... he's in Ultimate level now," T.K. said slowly, while Angemon had de-digivolved back to Patamon. A severely weakened, injured, drained-of-energy Patamon.

"Best if I end this quickly," WarGreymon decided. He launched himself into a large tornado, attempting to hit NeoDevimon with his tornado form. NeoDevimon however brutally slashed him continuously with his enhanced claws when WarGreymon was close enough.

"Stun Claw!!" NeoDevimon slashed WarGreymon on the chest again, leaving five lines of claw-marks on WarGreymon's chest. The lines began to glow red and instantly WarGreymon was stunned! Unable to move anymore, he was completely vulnerable towards NeoDevimon further attacks, and it looked like NeoDevimon wasn't going to let this chance passed by. WarGreymon grew weak, and began to glow. NeoDevimon realized that his opponent was going to de-digivolve, and he kicked WarGreymon hard on the chest where he was slashed earlier, and sent him crashing into the grounds. Upon impact, a small explosion erupted sending dusts all over, and when the dust cleared WarGreymon was no more, replaced by a knocked-out Agumon.

"Had enough?" NeoDevimon inquired cooly. "Such a shame, a Mega digimon beaten by an Ultimate!"

"You... you evil, vile monster!!" T.K. bellowed with rage.

"Ah, I am after all the devil monster. Evil and vile describe me well," NeoDevimon replied, all six eyes fixed on the Child of Hope. "Now, to do what I've always meant to do." NeoDevimon extended his enlarged claws, attempting to grab T.K. and Patamon, but he was blocked by the other Rookie digimons, except Agumon and Palmon, and the Champions Ankylomon and Gatomon.

"Move," NeoDevimon said threatheningly.

"Blue Blaster!" Gabumon attacked NeoDevimon's claw desperately, trying his best to protect T.K. and Patamon.

"Spiral Twister!" Biyomon exclaimed.

"Electro Shocker!" Tentomon joined in.

"Vee Head Butt!" Veemon headbutted NeoDevimon's claw after the three ealier attacks hit it.

"Insolent fools!" NeoDevimon snapped away all of the Rookies, sending them flying in all directions and making a clear path for him to grab T.K. and Patamon. He extracted Patamon from T.K.'s clutch and grabbed the Rookie away from T.K.

"You give him back!! Unhand him!" T.K. yelled angrily.

"I didn't forget about you too," NeoDevimon's other hand loomed towards T.K., and grabbed T.K. hard, revealing only T.K.'s head while his other parts of body was securely clasped by the claw. Patamon wasn't visible, being tiny himself and NeoDevimon's claw was far too big. 

"T.K.!!!!" The Digidestined cried out worriedly.

"Patamon!!!" The digimons called over their friend, who was in grave danger.

"I shall enjoy squashing the life out of you! To think that the two of you are prophecized as my downfall! You caused me much sufferings over the past four years, and now it's payback time!" NeoDevimon squeezed Patamon, deciding to torture the Rookie first before killing him. T.K. felt absolutely helpless as he heard Patamon's agonizing scream. It was too much for him to bear, and T.K. began to remember all his past adventures with Patamon... how he had taken care of Patamon's digi-egg form after their first battle with Devimon, the times when he'd successfully digivolved Angemon into MagnaAngemon during their battle with Piedmon, their three years long separation, the first time Patamon Armor Digivolved into Pegasusmon, and finally how Angemon and Ankylomon DNA Digivolved into Shakkoumon.

"Patamon..." T.K. said, tears trickling his cheeks. "Patamon..." 

"Aaaaahhhhhhh!!!!" Patamon screamed as NeoDevimon squeezed him harder.

The other Digidestined were angered and worried at the same time, watching NeoDevimon torturing their friends.

"We have to do something!" Matt cried, feeling scared and angry at the same time. 

"I can't... Trans-Digivolve!" Kari cried hysterically. She and Gatomon had attempted to Trans Digivolve but failed as Gatomon was still too weak. "I'm sorry!!"

"I'll do it!" Ankylomon released the unconscious GrapLeomon and ran towards NeoDevimon. "Tail Hammer!!" he stomped his tail towards NeoDevimon's claw, but it had no effect on the evil digimon.

"Fools!!" NeoDevimon hissed, and blasted Ankylomon away with the beams from his eyes, de-digivolving Ankylomon back into Armadillomon.

Patamon's pained screams grew weaker and weaker before it finally stopped. T.K. was worried that NeoDevimon had successfully destroyed Patamon once again.

"NOOOOO!!! PATAMON!!" he yelled. "Don't you leave me again. Patamon!!!" Hearing no reply, or no scream from Patamon, T.K. panicked. "Patamon?!!" 

NeoDevimon shifted his attention towards T.K. and sneered. "Your precious Patamon's gone!"

"Wha---?!" T.K. managed to choke out, disbelievingly. All of the sudden, his surroundings became silent. He was shocked, but at the same time a new feeling emerged from within himself. His mind began to pick up a feeling of hope, and knowing where it came from gave T.K. a glimmer of hope as well. Warmth began to spread all over his body, and suddenly he felt a foreign heartbeat, synchronizing with his own heartbeat. "No... he's not gone," T.K. whispered, and pure silver lights flashed out from NeoDevimon's claw where he was holding Patamon. A couple of seconds later, T.K. himself glimmered with silverish-green aura.

"What's happening?" Matt asked. "What's happening to my brother?"

"He's Trans-Digivolving!" Kari replied with awe.

The Diginizer of Hope glowed with green lights and the lights burnt NeoDevimon's hand, forcing him to release T.K. T.K. began to ascend towards the sky, and soon Patamon emerged from NeoDevimon's other hand. The two of them coalesced between each other before the fusion process began.

"Patamon Trans-Digivolve to..."

They merged together, and a silver figure of a muscular man in a fetal position appeared. The man stood upright and four pair of silvery wings sprouted from his backs, making him to appear as an angel. White outfit quickly adorned itself on the angel as boots and armor formed on his foot and left hand. The angel extended his left hand and a violet shield formed on top of the black armor, while his right hand was raised upwards. A glowing purple blade emerged from the golden bracelet which appeared instantly on his right wrist, as violet masked materialized in front of the angel's face, covering the upper half of it. Finally, yellow ribbon engraved with unique characters swirled around the angel, and the he struck a ready-for-battle pose. A stronger angel, or rather an archangel, was born!

"MagnaAngemon!"

"It's another Trans-Digivolution," Kari said in awe, as she and the others watched MagnaAngemon hovering at the skies, radiating with pure silver-white aura. 

MagnaAngemon stared silently towards NeoDevimon.

"We've Trans-Digivolved, Patamon," MagnaAngemon said slowly, his voice sounded more like Angemon than the usual voice of MagnaAngemon. It was actually the more matured version of T.K.'s own voice. T.K. had became MagnaAngemon, with Patamon to guide him from inside.

_"We sure did," _came Patamon's reply. _"Thank you."_

"Huh? For what?" MagnaAngemon asked, perplexed.

_ "For not giving up on me. For not giving up Hope!"_

NeoDevimon looked towards his arch-enemy, the archangel destined to destroy him. It was stated in the prophecy he had uncovered during his early years of living in the Digital World - he would meet his downfall in the hands of the youngest one. The prophecy was fulfilled four years ago when he was destroyed by Angemon, but his spirit lingered. With the help of Daemon, he was restored to the physical plane and was given greater powers. What was Daemon's intention, he would never know. All he did was giving out his digital DNA to Daemon in return of powers to ascend to Ultimate level. 

"Surely you don't think by digivolving, you've enough power to defeat me? I am much powerful than any Ultimate level digimon!" he said indignantly, and attacked MagnaAngemon with his powerful claws.

MagnaAngemon was calm. "Well, looks like we just have to wait and see," he said, evading the attack quickly by flying higher.

Then, he raised his right hand where he wore the large golden bracelet which housed the violet laser sword Excalibur. The sword glowed brilliantly before changing its color into radiant silver. MagnaAngemon then loomed with great speed towards NeoDevimon's gigantic form, thrusting his glimmering Excalibur forward. Aiming for the heart, MagnaAngemon's sword pierced NeoDevimon's body and flew through the hole made by the sword. 

NeoDevimon shrieked after receiving the unexpected attack. His body now had a large hole, where strange greenish black liquid were oozing out from it. It was a fatal attack from MagnaAngemon, but NeoDevimon was able to withstand it owing to his high power.

"You'll pay for this!!" he bellowed angrily. "Stun Claw!!"

"Excalibur!!" MagnaAngemon countered, thrusting his sword again. The two attacks collided and caused a big explosion. MagnaAngemon was thrown backwards, while NeoDevimon merely staggered a little. However, because he was wounded NeoDevimon lost more power. He clutched the left part of his chest to stop the green-black liquid, apparently it was his blood, from flowing out his body. Several big drops of the liquid already splattered the grounds, releasing strange vapor which had an extremely foul odor upon contact with the grounds.

NeoDevimon tried to heal his wound using his power, but unfortunately the ability was limited to when he was in his Champion form only. As an Ultimate, he was stronger but less-versatile in abilities.

Seeing that NeoDevimon was weakened from the blow, MagnaAngemon raised his sword towards the sky again. "Everyone," he said in a steady voice which had a commanding tone in it. "Now's our chance! Let's combine our powers together to defeat NeoDevimon once and for all!" 

Instantly, white beams shot out from the Digidestined' Diginizers and Digivices, and the powers from the beams were absorbed by the Excalibur. MagnaAngemon then focused his own powers, and made a circular motion in front of him.

"Gate of Destiny!!"

A strange circular, round golden gateway appeared, and it opened to reveal a dark vortex. Strange force came out from the gate, dangerously sucking everything which was in front of the gate. MagnaAngemon brought the gate nearer to NeoDevimon, attempting to suck him into the dimension where Piedmon and his horde of Vilemons had fallen victim four years ago.

"No! It can't happen like this! I've waited for so long!" NeoDevimon shrieked. He panicked and struggled to stick his foot on the ground. His large size also helped him in maintaining balace from the Gate of Destiny's pulling force. 

_"Looks like he needs more persuasion, T.K.," _Patamon nudged from the back of MagnaAngemon's mind.

MagnaAngemon smiled slightly. "I know just the thing he need."

The Gate of Destiny then flashed with silver lights, and the force that was pulling NeoDevimon into it increased. NeoDevimon struggled even harder, but apparently the Gate was stronger as it began to lift NeoDevimon into the air slowly. NeoDevimon was flustered, the more he attempted to break free from the Gate's force, the stronger he was pulled towards the gate. He raised both claws in his dire attempt to stop the Gate, but something unexpected happened. A sound of something cracking loudly filled the air, and NeoDevimon screamed loudly in pain. In split seconds, both his arms were torn-off from his body and were pulled into the Gate of Destiny.

"NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!" NeoDevimon howled. 

Next, the silver mask he wore was pulled out from his face, revealing an ugly, gray face which was contorted hideously. All his six eyes were flashing red, and released red firebeams randomly. Two beams were aimed straight towards MagnaAngemon, but were deflected by MagnaAngemon's shield. The black aura surrounding NeoDevimon suddenly vanished, and he started to shrink until he was no taller than MagnaAngemon himself. The next thing happened in a blink of the eye: The Gate of Destiny showered NeoDevimon with silver lights and pulled the villain into it. The last thing all of them heard was NeoDevimon's sickening cry before the Gate closed and diminished into data particles.

"He's gone. He's finally gone!" MagnaAngemon said, unbelievingly. "He's gone!"

_"Finally," _ Patamon said. _"T.K., we should destroy the Black Gears which are influencing GrapLeomon and all the other digimons."_

MagnaAngemon nodded, and summoned the last bit of his powers and channeled them towards his silver wings. "Magna Antidote!!" he said. The wings glimmered with multi-colored lights, and released a warm beam of rainbow towards the unconscious GrapLeomon and the Black Gear-infested digimons. Instantly, the rainbow destroyed all the Black Gears, and all the digimons were knocked out unconscious due to their earlier loss of powers, which were absorbed by Devimon.

The other Digidestined cheered loudly and the digimons jumped around happily, rejoicing the fact that their enemy was gone, forever.

"You did it, bro!" Matt exclaimed.

"Hooray for T.K. and Patamon!!" Yolei cheered.

"Yolei, that's MagnaAngemon up there!" came Hawkmon's comment amidst the deafening sound of Digidestined and digimon cheering.

"Oh whatever Hawkmon!!"

"They did it," Kari said. "T.K. and Patamon are the second pair."

MagnaAngemon descended slowly towards his friend, and as soon as his feet reached the grounds he de-digivolved back into a exhausted-looking T.K. whom immediately sprawled onto the grounds, and Tokomon, Patamon's In-Training form. T.K.'s face was dirty, his shirt torn slightly and his hair dishevelled (more dishevelled than before), but other than that he looked perfectly happy. 

"Finally, T.K.'s able to let go of the thing that's haunting him for so long," Cody whispered as he looked at the tired pair. 

Davis and Matt helped T.K. to stand. "Man, that was awesome, T.A.!" Davis said.

T.K. looked at Davis earnestly, and muttered, "Davis... for the thousandth time, my name is T.K.!"


	13. Of Foxes and Fire

**DISCLAIMER: ** I don't own Digimon Adventures, Digimon 02, Digimon World 2 and 3. 

** ***************************

** VENGEANCE   
  
- Chapter 12 - Of Foxes and Fire -  
  
by **

** Alforce Zero**

Chaos WarGreymon set his foot onto a volcanic region of the North Sector. The temperature was abnormally high, but for strong digimons like him, Chaos WarGreymon felt nothing. However, he owed that to his heritage. The Greymon species were naturally suited for living in regions such as this volcanic region Chaos WarGreymon was at. 

"Kulon Mines should be further ahead," Chaos WarGreymon muttered to himself.

He was here on a mission assigned to him by Chaos Specter, his master. He was ordered to retrieve a special crystal deep inside the Kulon Mines. Chaos WarGreymon had been forewarned that the crystal was heavily guarded, but Chaos Specter had trusted him on doing this job and he wasn't about going to let his master down. What kind of crystal he should be retrieving, Chaos WarGreymon didn't have a single clue. He just assumed that he would know when he saw it.

"How hard can it be? It's purple, diamond shaped, holds a dangerous power within," he said to no one in particular.

The northern quadrant of the North Sector was generally split up into three different regions - the volcanic regions, the snowy regions and the rocky regions. These three regions were considered the extreme parts of the north sector, that was why they were located on the northmost part. Below, which were the eastern, western and the southern quadrants of the North Sector, were basically greenlands, small villages, deserts, swamps, small cities and other usual places present in all other sectors. (A/N - One sector is divided into four quadrants, one quadrant divided into a number of regions)

Chaos WarGreymon continued flying slowly towards north, and soon he came into the rocky region. He had no intension to go as further as towards the snow region. It was there where the legendary city of Genbu was situated, although Chaos WarGreymon had no idea where exactly the city was. It was said that the city was somewhere in the glacier parts, surrounded by frozen seas and guarded by many ice-based digimons. The place where Ebonwumon, the Harmonious One of the North, dwelled had been somewhere near Genbu City as well. Chaos WarGreymon had no intention to go there as well.

He halted when he noticed something. Something all the way down the rocky mountains. Somewhere in the valley. 

"There it is," he said with satisfaction. Inside the valley, a small old metallic crate was lying on a railway. Owing to his good vision, Chaos WarGreymon could see that the railway also was old. The crate was covered with rust, which told Chaos WarGreymon roughly of its age. As he got closer to the grounds, he saw that the old railway was leading into a large cave. The cave was pitch dark, and silent.

Chaos WarGreymon slouched slowly into the cave. On top of the cave, someone had obviously written the large letters which spelt "Kulon Mines" carelessly. The cave was lit by some torches which hung on the wall. No digimons seemed to be present. In fact, the place looked completely deserted. 

"They must have fled when master attacked this sector," he thought. "No one seems to be here for a while. This'll make my job a lot easier." He continued walking into the deeper parts of the cave, and after a while to his surprise, he had reached a dead end! He sighed in frustration, trying to find any entrance or anything that might lead him to the place where the crystal was kept. 

"This can't be the end of this cave. There has to be a secret passage somewhere." Chaos WarGreymon leaned towards the wall which ended the tunnel. To his surprise, a portion of the wall where he was leaning budged a little, and he heard a soft rumble from his left. He turned to the source of the rumbling noise, and saw that at the corner of the tunnel a partition of the stone wall had moved deeper, revealing a secret doorway. Chaos WarGreymon silently let out a relieved sigh, and walked briskly towards the doorway. The doorway was however too small for a tall and biped digimon like him to enter. Only smaller digimons would fit in. This wasn't a problem for the general, as he used his Chrome Digizoid claws to make the doorway bigger by crushing the stony walls beside the doorway. After a few minutes, the doorway would fit him, and he walked in and gasped in awe. 

The sight inside the doorway was absolutely breathtaking. There was an icy clearing, and from the looks of it Chaos WarGreymon knew that it would be too slippery too walk. Lucky for him he knew how to fly. Some frozen stone formations protuded from the icy grounds. Chaos WarGreymon realized that the clearing used to be a lake, which was now frozen. He then took the stairs to walk down and out of curiosity he decided to inspect the frozen lake even further. As he reached closer to the frozen lake, he felt a sudden chill. It was somehow windy even though they were closed in a cave. The winds was so cold, Chaos WarGreymon shivered a little and decided to fly across the frozen lake immediately and look for the crystal, until a cold high-pitched feminine voice stopped him.

"You're not going anywhere!!"

Chaos WarGreymon glanced towards his right, where the voice seemed to be coming from. He saw a tall, elegant feminine digimon dressed in black and purple armor, and she was holding a long thin staff on her right hand. Her face was covered by a purple mask which depicted the head of a fox. Chaos WarGreymon had never seen such digimon before.

"I can't let you pass, not unless you beat me first."

"I don't want to fight," Chaos WarGreymon replied. "I just came here upon order from my Master."

The female digimon stepped closer towards him until she blocked his way by standing in front of him. "And your master will be...?"

"Chaos Specter."

"That vile human!" the female digimon spat. "He's captured the mighty Ebonwumon and threathen the safety of the Digital World. If you're working for him, I afraid I can't let you pass at all."

"I have no wish to fight a female digimon," Chaos Specter said gruffly. "And you are a female digimon. So step aside."

"You're underestimating me," the digimon replied with a slight smile. Her tone however, was no longer as cold as before.

"Well, don't force me to fight you."

"I'm afraid I'm obliged to challenge anyone who wants to pass through the Ice Lake."

"Good! So you won't blame me if I beat you," Chaos WarGreymon said. 

She smiled. "Very well then. Spirit Strike!!" She cried, and her whole body glowed in an eerie violet and white aura. One ghostly white fox spirit emerged from the tip of her staff and flew around her for a while. She then muttered something while holding two pieces of small red papers, and then she threw the papers towards Chaos WarGreymon. Both papers were pasted on his chest, and instantly the fox spirit shot towards Chaos WarGreymon. In a blink of the eye, the spirit flew through Chaos WarGreymon and stunned him with sudden extreme chill. Chaos WarGreymon instantly was temporarily immobilized.

"For a ridiculous attack name, the effect sure is lasting," Chaos WarGreymon muttered with slight awe. He attempted to struggle before he was stopped by the feminine digimon.

"Save your strength," she said with a smile. "The stunning effect of my attack is capable of holding digimons with great powers, such as you." She walked closer and examined Chaos WarGreymon with curiosity and suspicion.

"Who are you?" Chaos WarGreymon asked. "Not many digimon managed to do that to me, and I would like to know who's successful in doing so. I must say that I've never seen you around before."

"I'm not surprised, because I've lived almost whole my long life inside this cave and my species is very, very rare. My name is Kuzuhamon. I'm a Mega level, Virus type digimon," she said. "And your name?"

"Chaos WarGreymon."

"A WarGreymon? Well this is interesting. I haven't seen a WarGreymon before, but I've always thought WarGreymons are good digimons, serving the side of good," Kuzuhamon said. "But you? You serve the forces of evil."

Chaos WarGreymon felt that he was beginning to regain his mobility again. He was surprised that the effect of Kuzuhamon's attack was so short, but then again he was the stronger digimon. Kuzuhamon however, didn't seem to notice this as she turned her back against him for a while.

"I've been serving my master for as long as I could remember."

"Don't you have any second thoughts?" Kuzuhamon asked. "I th --" Before she could finish up her sentence, Chaos WarGreymon had seized both her hands and was holding her firmly.

"Surprised?" he asked.

"How did you get over the immobilizing effect so soon?" Kuzuhamon asked, shocked. She struggled to break free from Chaos WarGreymon, and to her amazement she was released instantly. Apparently Chaos WarGreymon had no intentions to harm her in any sort of way. She then turned to face Chaos WarGreymon, who was looking at her triumphantly.

"I'm well-armored," Chaos WarGreymon said smugly. "So are you going to fight me?"

Kuzuhamon hesitated, knowing that her opponent was far more powerful compared to her. 

"Stop right there! Don't you dare hurt her, intruder!" Another female voice shouted from where Kuzuhamon had came from earlier. Both Chaos WarGreymon and Kuzuhamon glanced towards the source of the voice, and saw two identical nine-tailed foxes standing on all fours. Both foxes had the similar stern expressions plastered on their faces. They were similar in every way except for their colors. One of them had purple furs, with green unearthly flames erupting from each of her nine tails while the other one was silver-furred with red flames flaring on each of her nine tails. Both fox digimons leapt high on the air, and landed on all fours on each of Kuzuhamon's sides.

"I'm alright, Youkomon, Kyubimon," Kuzuhamon said assuringly.

"Who are you, intruder?" the silver fox who was addressed by Kuzuhamon as Kyubimon, asked Chaos WarGreymon. Her tone was fierce, and apparently she was the one who had shouted towards him earlier.

Chaos WarGreymon scoffed. "That's none of your business, digimon!"

"I'm called Kyubimon!" the silver fox digimon said defiantly. "And I'm ready to fight you!"

"Count me in as well. I'm Youkomon!" the purple fox added, stepping further to stand beside her silver counterpart.

"What are you, Ultimates?" Chaos WarGreymon said disbelievingly. "Even your Mega-level friend is no match for me, and you two here want to fight me? You'll be signing your own death warrants, digimons."

Both Youkomon and Kyubimon (silver) were perplexed. Kuzuhamon stepped forward to stop them from attacking.

"Actually, they are Champions," she said matter-of-factly. 

"Champions? Hah! You should know that you don't even stand a chance," Chaos WarGreymon said.

"We're obliged to stop anyone from passing the Ice Lake!" Youkomon said defiantly.

Chaos WarGreymon scowled. He didn't like fighting female digimons.

"Tell you what. I will stand right here, and the three of you can strike me with your most powerful attacks once. You have my word that I won't run away," he said with a sneer.

"You're really are full of yourself, aren't you?" Kuzuhamon asked irritably. 

"How do we know that you'll keep your word?" Kyubimon (silver) asked, eyeing Chaos WarGreymon suspiciously. "How do we know that you don't have any hidden agenda?"

"I don't --"

"What's the catch?" Youkomon cut in, before Chaos WarGreymon could even reply to Kyubimon (silver)'s answer.

"There's only one catch. If the three of you are still unable to destroy me after attacking once with your powerful attacks, you have to let me pass," Chaos WarGreymon said.

"What!!" Kuzuhamon exclaimed. 

"Deal!!" Both Youkomon and Kyubimon (silver) said simultaneously.

"No!" Kuzuhamon said sternly. 

"Think about it. If I were to fight you back, I can easily wipe these two Champions instantly with a single blast of my Terra Force. I might need to attack you even more, Kuzuhamon, as you're a Mega, but eventually I'll defeat you. This way, however, you have the chance to destroy me and I won't even do anything to stop you. To make it better for you ---" Chaos WarGreymon took off his shield, which he wore on his back, and threw it away on the frozen lake. "There... you can attack me a lot more easier from many sides."

"..." Kuzuhamon didn't know what to say.

"You don't know what's coming for you!" Youkomon declared. "I'm going first."

Youkomon positioned herself about six meters in front of Chaos WarGreymon.

"I'm going to attack you at close proximity," she told the dragon digimon, who looked pretty much unimpressed. Seeing that Chaos WarGreymon had prepared to receive her attacks, she powered up and all the tips of her nine tails flared with bright orange flames. 

"Fox Tail Inferno!!" she bellowed, and nine jets of orange firebeams shot out from her tails and blasted Chaos WarGreymon. "That should teach you --- what!!" Youkomon was taken aback when she saw Chaos WarGreymon was still standing, unscathed. He sneered at her. 

"Nice one," he said mockingly. Youkomon growled back, but she stepped back to let her friends to try.

Kyubimon (silver) was next. She powered herself up and instantly she was engulfed with a fiery red fireball.

"Dragon Wheel!!" she cried out, and launched herself as the fiery red fireball towards Chaos WarGreymon. She went directly through the dragon digimon and turned back to her fox self after that. Chaos WarGreymon staggered a little, but still managed to maintain his stance.

"Still alive," Chaos WarGreymon said tauntingly, and looked at Kuzuhamon. "I guess it's only you then."

Kuzuhamon stared at Chaos WarGreymon, thinking of a way to stop Chaos WarGreymon from passing over the Ice Lake. She knew that he was more powerful than her, and it would be useless for her to attack him with the attack she'd used earlier as Chaos WarGreymon was only momentarily stunned. He was too strong that he was able to resist the effect of the attack, whereas other Mega digimons will usually be stunned as long as she wanted them to be, and the chill from the stunning effect would take effect a few minutes after they were stunned. Chaos WarGreymon however, managed to break free of the stunning effect even before the chill effect could take place.

"Aren't you going to attack? I promised earlier that I won't budge," Chaos WarGreymon said. 'Why is she hesitating?' he thought silently.

Kuzuhamon made up her mind. "Youkomon, Kyubimon, I need your help."

"Anything, Kuzuhamon," they said simultaneously.

Kuzuhamon glanced at Chaos WarGreymon. "You don't mind if I borrow their powers to increase my attack power, do you? I don't think I've broken any rule by doing so, as I'll still be attacking you alone."

Chaos WarGreymon was slightly surprised, but the feeling changed to total admiration.

'This female is really something,' he thought. "Be my guest, Kuzuhamon."

Kuzuhamon raised her staff and began to chant a spell, which was actually a song. The song echoed all over the cave, and for a while Chaos WarGreymon really admired Kuzuhamon's voice. Kuzuhamon however, wasn't just singing. Slipped between the index and middle of her right fingers were two red paper talismans, both engraved with Chinese characters. The papers glowed bright red, and Kuzuhamon threw the papers towards her two Champion friends. The papers were pasted in the middle of their foreheads, and both of them glowed green and silver. Instantly, they de-digivolved back to their Rookie forms and two orbs of lights, one green and the other silver, appeared.

The orbs of lights then were absorbed into the staff, and Kuzuhamon's song became louder. Purple and white aura erupted from her body and she stopped singing/chanting. The top part of her staff, which was a large ring-shaped part with smaller rings attached to it, exploded with white and purple jets of lights which then combined forming a large streak of white and purple lightray. The lightray encircled around Kuzuhamon until when it reached the foot part. Then, the lights materialized into a large, real-life shaped, silver-colored projection of a fox.

"Spirit Strike!!"

The silver fox let out a growl, and leapt up into the air towards Chaos WarGreymon. It then emitted bright sparks of silver lights before pounding towards Chaos WarGreymon. The dragon digimon let out a yelp when he was lifted of the grounds by the silver fox, and cold chilling aura began to spread all over Chaos WarGreymon. The fox then made a back-flip on the air before diving towards him, and completely went through him before it emerged behind his body. After that, the fox projection dissolved into data particles. 

Chaos WarGreymon had never felt such excruciating pain which was also freezing at the same time. He fell crashing on the grounds and doubled over, trying to rid the pain and chill.

Kuzuhamon approached Chaos WarGreymon slowly, her expression serious.

"What do you say now, Chaos WarGreymon? It seems like you have lost the deal."

Chaos WarGreymon stopped doubling over, and was grinning maliciously. "Oh I don't think so, Kuzuhamon. Aside from feeling a little bit of chill and stunned temporarily, I'm far from being destroyed. As a matter of fact --" he instantly stood up. " -- I'm alive, and kicking!"

"What?!" Kuzuhamon nearly shrieked in disbelief, and instantly backed away a few steps.

"Oh yes, Kuzuhamon. The stun effect didn't even last a few seconds on me, and the coldness will soon disappear as well," he said with a sinister sneer on his face. "You're powerful, Kuzuhamon, I'll give you that. However, you're still no match for me. So why don't you and the Rookies just stand aside and let me be on my way?" Chaos WarGreymon walked towards his shield, which he had thrown away earlier, and placed it back on his back. He then summoned his power and instantly, bright fiery aura erupted from his body for a while before it disappeared again.

"There, the chillness is completely nullified," he said with satisfaction.

"You... may go," Kuzuhamon said, lost of words.

"Kuzuhamon, no!!" the two Rookies protested.

"He's won, and we've made a deal," Kuzuhamon said impatiently. "A deal you two have agreed."

"..." The two Rookie forms of Youkomon and Kyubimon (silver) fell quiet. (A/N :Their Rookie forms are Renamons - purple and silver)

"Go then," Kuzuhamon said finally, a tone of bitterness was evident in her voice as she turned away from Chaos WarGreymon and walked away back to her lair. The two Renamons looked at each other, speechless, and followed Kuzuhamon without looking back towards Chaos WarGreymon. Chaos WarGreymon shrugged and took off towards the exit, which was a large doorway situated at the end side of the clearing. He contemplated for a while whether to fly or to walk, and decided for the latter.

The exit was dark, but there was a slight reddish glow coming out from it. Chaos WarGreymon walked into the doorway, which was revealed to be a long and narrow tunnel, and he saw that the source of the glow had merely been from the torches on the wall. As he walked further, he came into a series of stairs which he would have to take to go down. It was getting darker and the lights from the torches became fainter, and Chaos WarGreymon decided that it was probably best if he walked down the stairs instead of flying down. The further he went, the hotter he felt. The temperature was rising with every step he had taken down the stairs, and Chaos WarGreymon began to wonder whether he was under the volcanic region again. He found the exit, and took it eagerly.

Outside was a land of frozen magma, the size of the land was just as big as the frozen lake he had encountered earlier. Small rivers of larva flowed in every direction, and geisers shot out from the grounds without warning, shooting boiling waters and steam towards the ceiling. Chaos WarGreymon saw a clear pathway, made of frozen magma, but without the geisers and the larva river, and deduced that the pathway must be the only way to cross the frozen magma land to get to the other side, where he saw an exit. He decided not to fly, as he didn't want to be scalped by the steam or the boiling water. Sighing, Chaos WarGreymon took the pathway to start passing through the magma-land.

"Halt!" a rough voice demanded. Chaos WarGreymon saw a tall and buffed humanoid digimon with chains wrapped on his uncovered torso. Light blue flames were seen radiating from his body, and his mask covered his facial expression. He was SkullMeramon, and on his sides were Meramon on his left, and BlueMeramon on his right.

"You've passed through Kuzuhamon, I see," BlueMeramon said. "Unscathed," he added in distaste.

"Well you're not passing here," SkullMeramon said gruffly. "Not until you've defeated the three of us."

"You're a Mega digimon," Meramon said out loud.

Chaos WarGreymon nodded. "What's the matter? Scared already?"

"You're on our grounds now, WarGreymon! Although your species fare quite well in fires, but here the three of us are at our best," SkullMeramon said. 

"The name's Chaos WarGreymon. Bring it on!"

"You'll pay for your arrogance, intruder!" SkullMeramon declared. He untied the chains which was loosely tied at his body, and held it like a whip. Blue flames erupted from his hand, and SkullMeramon infused the flames into the chains. He jumped in mid-air and lashed out the chains towards Chaos WarGreymon. "Flame Whip!!" 

Chaos WarGreymon raised his claw to catch the chains, but SkullMeramon's chains then swirled away avoiding the claws. The chains moved past the dragon-man digimon before it made a comeback from behind, trying to tie Chaos WarGreymon on the neck. SkullMeramon who was getting closer to Chaos WarGreymon, pulled the chains slightly, and the chains was successfully tied at the latter's neck. Chaos WarGreymon felt a burning sensation coming from the chain-whip. Suddenly, the chains erupted blue fires again and scorched Chaos WarGreymon's neck.

"AAAAARRGGGHH!!" he screamed in a mixed sound of pain and rage. His fiendish expression covered by his metallic mask, Chaos WarGreymon made an attempt to seize the chains to try pulling it away.

"I don't think so, Chaos WarGreymon. This is what you'll get for tresspassing the Kulon Mines. Now, Kuzuhamon may have gone soft on you but don't expect the same thing from us," SkullMeramon said triumphantly, and tugged the chains harder. This time, his motive was to choke the life out of Chaos WarGreymon. Chaos WarGreymon felt pain in his chest and head, his blood flow and air flow inside his body were disrupted.

Meramon and BlueMeramon watched intently as SkullMeramon used his chains to burn Chaos WarGreymon cruelly. Although Chaos WarGreymon was nowhere near on the winning side, SkullMeramon seemed to have some difficulties to finish him up once and for all. His Chrome Digizoid armor protected him from being burnt alive, but it also absorbed the intense heat from the fire cast by SkullMeramon.

"The WarGreymon is as good as dead," BlueMeramon said. "SkullMeramon is absolutely notorious when it comes to roasting the enemy."

Meramon nodded in agreement. "How true."

Chaos WarGreymon wriggled more forcefully, attempting to make SkullMeramon lost his balance. The chains were suffocating him hard, and if he didn't break free he would be deleted. The thought of losing in the hands of an Ultimate digimon made Chaos WarGreymon seethed with anger. Using the anger, he focused his remaining dark chaotic energy and soon, deep crimson - black aura erupted from his body, completely extinguishing the flames from SkullMeramon's chains. Chaos WarGreymon let out an extremely deafening howl, his neck bulged as he strained to do so. Finally, with help from the dark aura around him Chaos WarGreymon destroyed the chains which was choking him.

SkullMeramon was taken aback after seeing this. "What dark powers do you possess, Chaos WarGreymon?!" he demanded.

"It's all thanks to my master. His Chaos power had energized me, making me twice as powerful as any normal WarGreymon."

BlueMeramon and Meramon stepped forward.

"You may be powerful, but how well can you fight the three of us together?" BlueMeramon challenged.

"Hah!! Don't be ridiculous! I am way beyond a normal Mega digimon. I've defeated even the Harmonious Ones with this power, don't think that I would have any much of a problem to eliminate you three," Chaos WarGreymon retorted. "Terra Force!!" he bellowed again, firing an attack towards the three Meramons.

"Metal Fireball!!" SkullMeramon countered the attack with his own brand of attack, which lived up to its name.

"Fireball!!" Meramon joined in, his attack however was weaker than SkullMeramon's Metal Fireball.

"Cold Flame!!" BlueMeramon, instead of the usual hot fire attacks, he used his icy powers.

The three attacks collided with the Terra Force, and all four attacks disintegrated instantly.

"Three of you makes a formidable team," Chaos WarGreymon remarked with a scowl. "Few can withstand MY Terra Force. Perhaps the three if you shall give me a more interesting fight compared to my battle with Kuzuhamon and her Champion friends."

"Save it, Chaos WarGreymon. It's unlikely that you'll manage to pass the Underground Volcano region. I, as the leader of the Fire Knights, will make sure of that," SkullMeramon said icily, and raised his chains again for another combat. Fiery blue aura erupted from all over his body, indicating that he was powering up. His chains glowed with the same blue flames. SkullMeramon then launched himself in the air, and swinged his chains towards Chaos WarGreymon with great agility.

"Flame Chains!!"

Chaos WarGreymon felt the intense heat radiating from the chains and attempted to fly away, but as he did that SkullMeramon used the chains to catch his left leg with the chains, and pulled Chaos WarGreymon towards himself. When the dragon digimon was close enough SkullMeramon landed a powerful fiery punch onto his back. However, the punch did nothing more than a few minor scorches on the shield which Chaos WarGreymon wore on his back.

Chaos WarGreymon however was irritated by SkullMeramon's recent doing and decided to end the battle as soon as possible. The force from SkullMeramon's mighty blow sent him flying towards the roof of the cave, but he managed to regain his composure and stopped himself in time from hitting the roof. 

"Terra Force!!" Chaos WarGreymon launched his massive fireball attack towards SkullMeramon, who tried in vain to stop the attack. He was vaporized instantly by the attack, his agonizing scream filled the air for a while before it subsided. 

Meramon and BlueMeramon were absolutely shocked after seeing their leader destroyed by Chaos WarGreymon. 

"SkullMeramon!!" Both of them cried out, slightly trembling as they knew that they were no match for Chaos WarGreymon.

"What do we do now?" Meramon asked worriedly.

"We can't let him pass us. Clearly, he has no good intentions. We've been given the task to stop any intruder from passing, and this is what we should do even if we have to sacrifice ourselves!" BlueMeramon said determinedly.

"But we must not be rash. This digimon is more powerful than the both of us combined. We've got to think of a plan, and I have an idea," Meramon said, and leaned closer to BlueMeramon and told him of his plan, carefully avoiding his voice to be heard by Chaos WarGreymon.

Chaos WarGreymon wondered what were the Meramons up to. "They're hatching up a plan. Well, let's see what they wanted to do," he said to himself, and took the time to slowly regain his strength back. The battle he had with SkullMeramon didn't bend his energy too much, but a few parts of his exposed skin were scorched by SkullMeramon's chains.

After a while, both Meramons suddenly jumped up towards him without warning, and fired their attacks.

"Roaring Flame!!"

"Cold Flame!!"

The sudden attack surprised Chaos WarGreymon, but he managed to protect himself from the attack using his shield. Meramon and BlueMeramon however, were undainted. The jets of red and blue flames erupting from their hands grew bigger and pushed Chaos WarGreymon backwards slightly. The stronger Mega digimon was perplexed by their actions.

"Are you planning on pitting strength with me?" Chaos WarGreymon asked mockingly. "Both of you are way out of my league!"

Unknown to Chaos WarGreymon however, the two Meramons had something in their minds. Something that would even up the odds.

"More power, BlueMeramon!!" Meramon said, and increased the force of his Roaring Flame attack.

"Right!" BlueMeramon followed suit. Both Meramons then roared loudly, and the forces of their flaming attacks greatly increased, pushing Chaos WarGreymon further and further backward. 

Behind Chaos WarGreymon, there was a small opening. It was releasing steam, and was slowly gurgling with magma. The opening was actually an orifice leading towards a small underground volcano, and it would soon erupt. It was a normal phenomenon which occured in the volcanic part of Kulon Mines, and the Meramons planned to use it to their advantage. They were trying to get Chaos WarGreymon nearer the opening of the volcano, and with perfect timing they were sure that they would win the battle.

"Anytime now," Meramon said slowly. "More power now!" 

Both Meramons attacked harder, and Chaos WarGreymon soon became wary.

'They were up to something,' he thought, and no sooner after that he accidentally stumbled backwards, and felt a small hole beneath his body. Chaos WarGreymon attempted to get up when the grounds around him suddenly rumbled, and Chaos WarGreymon paled after sensing strong movements coming from the hole under him. "Blast! I've been tricked!!" he said angrily. A couple of seconds later, the small underground volcano erupted, spitting out a large amount of hot burning larva and Chaos WarGreymon. The dragon digimon was showered with the larva, which was too hot for him to withstand. He howled in pain and doubled over in mid-air, trying to get away from the shower of larva which was mercilessly burning and scorching him. Meramon and BlueMeramon however were unaffected as they were fire-based digimons.

"Now's our chance!" Meramon leapt in mid-air. "This is for SkullMeramon! Roaring Flame!!" 

"Cold Flame!!" Both attacks collided with Chaos WarGreymon and caused a loud explosion of fire. Smokes engulfed the surroundings and for a moment, the Meramons were blinded of their vision. They waited in anticipation as to see whether their combined attacks had destroyed Chaos WarGreymon for good or not. 

"Is he gone?" Meramon asked.

"I hope so," BlueMeramon replied, fixing his eyes on the smokes. They couldn't see anything yet.

"Gone? I don't think so!" A familiar voice replied suddenly as a figure emerged from the smokes. It was Chaos WarGreymon, his armor scorched in various places and shield destroyed but otherwise, he was in perfect health. However, he was extremely pissed off the two Meramons. "You think you could get rid me that easily with that trick? I am well-adapted to fire, as your deceased leader had said earlier, you fools! Now you'll pay for this!" Chaos WarGreymon summoned an extra-massive Terra Force with both his hands raised upwards, and blasted the attacks mercilessly towards the two Meramons, who were instantly pulverized upon contact.

Chaos WarGreymon smiled sinisterly as he flew over the frozen magma, feeling a little relieved of finally ridding himself off another obstacle. He took the exit and instantly was engulfed in total darkness. Unlike the previous tunnels he had taken to go to the Ice Lake and the Underground Volcano region, this tunnel had not any source of light, forcing Chaos WarGreymon to be extra careful and on his full guard. As a powerful Mega digimon, the battle he had with the Meramons earlier had taken only a small amount of energy out from him but from that battle he had substained some minor injuries as well.

"Blast it!" he muttered as he touched the place where he was scorched by the larva and SkullMeramon's chains. 

He walked aimlessly inside the darkness, but using his other well-developed senses he managed to navigate himself perfectly until he was sure that he had reached the exit. He stepped out carefully from the tunnel, but wasn't able to see anything. All he saw was black, everywhere. The situation unnerved him, as it was also deathly silent. His senses didn't pick up any movements. Chaos WarGreymon didn't like this, he was quite vulnerable in his current situation. He energized a small fireball on his right claw for some lights, and the orange lights from it helped him to get a clearer vision.

Chaos WarGreymon saw that he was at a small underground valley. He could make out that the grounds were metallic, as some of the lights from the fireball reflected back towards him. Besides, his feet felt the coldness of the metallic floors. 

"You are to be commended for reaching this far!" A loud and commanding voice boomed out of nowhere. Chaos WarGreymon was slightly shocked by the voice, and made his small fireball bigger to give out more lights. He then released the fireball to hover in midair so that he could see clearly who his opponent was. He nearly jumped when he saw a figure with the splitting image of himself standing ten meters in front of him, watching him with a pair of yellowish eyes.

He was standing face to face with Black WarGreymon!  


** *******************************************************

The defeat of NeoDevimon caused the spell of darkness he had cast all over the East Sector to be lifted immediately. The Black Gear-possesed digimons were freed and together, they destroyed NeoDevimon's hidden fortress as a way to express their anger of being controlled for evil purposes. The Digidestined assured that it was not their fault, and that they had never engaged them into any kinds of battles. The digimons were thankful that they had never fought the Digidestined against their will, and that they were freed from the Black Gears.

GrapLeomon however, was less-fortunate. He remained unconscious even after the Black Gear was removed. Seeing that he was hurt, the Digidestined had taken him back to Asuka Laboratory for check-up. Gennai and Piximon concluded that the DNA Digivolution between Leomon and Ogremon was permanent, they would have to remain together as GrapLeomon. The situation was ironic, considering that they were once mortal enemies. Although for the past few years they had resolved their enmity, they were not exactly the best of friends either but had worked together on numerous occasions. It was concluded that it was perhaps their fate, but as long as GrapLeomon lived, the power of DNA Digivolution between Angemon and Ankylomon remained forever within him. The Digidestined and the digimons, particularly T.K. and Patamon, and Cody and Armadillomon, took their loss of powers well as T.K. and Patamon already achieved the ability to Trans Digivolve to Patamon's Ultimate level, MagnaAngemon!

With both of them finally able to destroy NeoDevimon once and for all, T.K. could finally let go of his inner demons and went on. The event where Angemon was deleted in front of him four years ago used to play in his mind everytime he saw dark digimons. Their newfound ability enabled both T.K. and Patamon to work together to ensure NeoDevimon's permanent destruction.

One day later...

A tall man dressed in black with a crimson cape stood in front of the remnants of the destroyed fortress of NeoDevimon. He had raven hair and emerald eyes, and from a glance many would say that he looked rather a bit like Myotismon, with the way he dressed. However, his features clearly stated that he was a human. Accompanying him was a small black cat digimon, known as BlackGatomon. 

"Well, well, well, nothing much remains around here after that battle," the young man said towards the BlackGatomon.

The BlackGatomon tilted her head up slightly. "Why are we here then, if I may ask?"

The man smiled slightly, and took out a small metallic device from the pockets of his robe. The device looked like a syringe with a round concave plate attached on one of it's end, while the other end was shaped like a gunholder. He beckoned for the BlackGatomon to follow him as he turned away from the destroyed fortress, and walked towards the place where the intense battle between NeoDevimon and the Digidestined took place the day before. On the grounds there were patches of brown dried liquid at certain places.

"Excellent. This is exactly what I'm looking for," the main said with a smile, and pointed the device towards the dry patches. He pulled the trigger of the device, and the plate released a soft yellowish beam towards the dry patches. Instantly, both the man and the BlackGatomon saw as the dry patches began to liquify itself again, and the brown color changed into green. 

"Eerrgghh, what's this horrible smell!" the BlackGatomon said and covered her nose with one hand. She then leapt up towards the man's shoulder and settled herself there. The man's nose twitched a little, but he didn't cover his nose although for the BlackGatomon the foul smell was unbearable. Instead, the man's smile grew wider.

"The blood sample of NeoDevimon," he said with satisfaction, without glancing towards the BlackGatomon. 

The green liquid then was vaporized and became a small cloud of green mist. The mist was absorbed by the plate part of the device, and instantly the same green liquid that was on the grounds a minute ago filled in the syringe. The man nodded in satisfaction and placed the device back inside his pocket. Then, both the man and the BlackGatomon disappeared in a flash of crimson lights, leaving not a single trace of evidence indicating their presence on that place. 


	14. Chaos VS Black

**DISCLAIMER: ** I don't own Digimon Adventures, Digimon 02, Digimon World 2 and 3. 

Note: The Black WarGreymon in this chapter is NOT the same Black WarGreymon in Digimon 02. He did not get reconfigured. This is a new Black WarGreymon, but I haven't thought of how he existed yet. I'll think of an explaination in later chapters.

Also, in this chapter Chaos WarGreymon is revealed to have a new ability he had never used before.

** ***************************

** VENGEANCE   
  
- Chapter 13 - Chaos VS Black -  
  
by **

** Alforce Zero**

It was the first time Chaos WarGreymon had ever seen another WarGreymon other than himself. He was reminded of what Kuzuhamon had said to him earlier, during their encounter at the Ice Lake.

"A WarGreymon? Well this is interesting. I haven't seen a WarGreymon before, but I've always thought WarGreymons are good digimons, serving the side of good. But you? You serve the forces of evil."

'So even Kuzuhamon herself never ventured this far,' Chaos WarGreymon thought to himself while noting the differences between himself and his opponent. The only difference present between the two of them were the colors of their armor. The armor worn by his opponent was all completely in black, save for the yellow tubes which were intertwined over his greyish chestplate. Whereas, Chaos WarGreymon's shoulder pad armor, the shield, and the knee caps were silver, and his chestplate was gold in color while the other parts of his armor was in the darkest shade of grey.

Black WarGreymon had never seen Chaos WarGreymon before as well, but he remained calm.

"What purpose have you, Chaos WarGreymon, for venturing until the deepest part of the Kulon Mines?" he asked.

"I'm here under my master's order to retrieve a crystal," Chaos WarGreymon replied curtly. 

"I'm afraid this is as far as you can go, because we will do everything in our power to stop you."

"Yeah, I figured that. That's what they said," Chaos WarGreymon said. "And I've beaten them all."

Black WarGreymon didn't reply to this. Instead, he stomped his foot on the metallic grounds and instantly, the formerly dark surroundings were lit up with strange purple light, which seemed to be radiating from the cave walls. Chaos WarGreymon realized that he was inside some kind of a battle ring, constructed similar to that of the Ice Lake and the Underground Volcano regions. 

Without warning, more than ten Bakemons and five Phantomon floated down out of nowhere. They just seemed to appear when the lights came out. The ghostly digimons hovered close around Chaos WarGreymon, all seemed to be ready for battle. The Phantomons readied their scythes, while the Bakemons just floated around the dragon digimon and emitted strange eerie sounds as they did that.

"Is this the best you can do?" Chaos WarGreymon asked, supressing a tone of disbelief. "Champions and Ultimates?"

"Not so," a mechanical voice replied. The voice came out from the far left end from where all of them were standing. Chaos WarGreymon spun left, and saw a black android figure walking towards him cooly. He looked like an Andromon - a completed version of Andromon without his flesh exposed to air. The black-armored digimon was HiAndromon, a Mega form of Andromon. He walked towards Black WarGreymon, and stood beside him soon after. The two Mega digimons eyed Chaos WarGreymon warily.

"This may be the toughest obstacle I have to face in this cave," Chaos WarGreymon said. "Still, I've faced worst before."

"We shall see, Chaos WarGreymon," Black WarGreymon said irritably. "Bakemons! Phantomons! Attack the intruder!"

The Bakemons all approached Chaos WarGreymon with their usual eerie style. Massive blue hands shot out from the sleeves without warning, punching the dragon digimon mightily. The combined forces of five Bakemons however were still inferior compared to Chaos WarGreymon's sheer strength. He didn't even make an effort to evade the attacks the Bakemons had inflicted upon him.

Chaos WarGreymon raised himself up into the air, and turned into a raging silver tornado.

"Great Tornado!!" he bellowed, and rammed through all the Bakemons. The poor ghost digimons instantly combusted into millions of data particles. Next, he set his eyes on the Phantomons, who cowered slightly but still were determined to fight. However, Chaos WarGreymon didn't want to waste time fighting them, and launched himself as a tornado again. The phantom digimons tried to evade the attack, but they weren't quick enough and thus suffered the same fate as their ghost friends.

"And now for a quick meal," Chaos WarGreymon muttered and spread his arms wide. His body emitted a faint silver glow, and instantly the data particles of the deceased Phantomons coalesced around him and were absorbed into his body. Instantly, several cuts and scorch marks which were present on his body were healed slightly.

Black WarGreymon and HiAndromon were shocked. Neither of them had anticipated such action demonstrated by Chaos WarGreymon. 

"It can't be! He healed himself after absorbing the data particles of the Phantomons!" HiAndromon exclaimed. 

Chaos WarGreymon growled slightly before sneering towards his opponents. The ability to absorb data particles of deleted digimons was a trait unique to only the Chaos Generals and Chaos Specter's pet digimon BlackGatomon, bestowed upon them by Chaos Specter himself. As far as he had known, it was an ability of digimons from another Digital World dimension which Chaos WarGreymon had never ventured. 

"Stop right now, Chaos WarGreymon!" Black WarGreymon commanded. 

Chaos WarGreymon looked at both Mega digimons with mild interest.

"I am healed to nearly full strength," he said. "Neither of you can defeat me now! If you don't want to suffer the same fate as those Phantomons, make way now and I'll leave you in peace. Otherwise ---"

"Your threats don't scare us!" Black WarGreymon bellowed angrily. "We'd taken an oath to protect this region, and we'll do it even if it cost us our lives!"

"Looks like you're not as smart as I thought. Really, is Kuzuhamon the only digimon around here who puts a high value in her and her friends' lives? They gave way instantly after I had proven myself to be stronger than any of them. Those Meramon fools however were foolish to engage me into a battle, and as a result... I'd deleted them all!!" 

Hearing this, both Mega digimons were shocked.

"You evil being! We will not let you win, Chaos WarGreymon!" HiAndromon said with determination. 

"Looks like the two of you are just the same with those stupid Meramons. Thinking using their legs instead of their heads," Chaos WarGreymon said with a sneer. "I shall enjoy devouring your data particles, which will make me even more stronger than before! Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha !!"

"I'm willing to bet that you're all talk!" Black WarGreymon spat.

"Oh really? Why don't you try me?"

"You'll soon wish you regret saying that! Terra Destroyer!!" Black WarGreymon hurled the dark versions of the Terra Force towards Chaos WarGreymon. The sheer force of the attack hurled Chaos WarGreymon towards the walls of the caves, where he was sent crashing. This shocked Chaos WarGreymon, he never knew that Black WarGreymon was that strong. He regained his composure and powered himself up immediately.

"Well this is certainly going to be very interesting," he muttered. "Terra Force!!"

"Terra Destroyer!!"

The attacks collided together and caused a huge explosion, sending both Chaos and Black WarGreymons flying away in opposite direction. Both digimons were engulfed with thick smokes which came from the collision of the attacks, and it would took a while before the smokes subsided. Without their visions, both WarGreymons became more alert of any sudden sounds and movements, fearing that any one of them would take the chance to strike at the other unexpectantly.

HiAndromon, who was watching the battle saw his chance to help his comrade getting rid of the intruder.

"Now's my chance. Copy Paste!" he said, and instantly another HiAndromon figure stepped out from his body. Two HiAndromons stood side by side now instead of one. Both digimons had the same attack skills, however their powers were reduced that each HiAndromon only possessed around 60% of their original power compared when both of them became one. In times like this, HiAndromon felt that it was crucial for him to have more help around to defeat Chaos WarGreymon. 

The two HiAndromons stepped closer to the smokes. They wanted to attack Chaos WarGreymon unexpectantly. However since both WarGreymons had the same silhoutte visible from within the smokes, it was nearly impossible for any HiAndromon to differentiate one from the other. Now wanting to hurt Black WarGreymon unintentionally, both HiAndromons waited for the perfect moment to strike.

Suddenly loud roars were heard and from the smokes, two tornado shot out from it. One was black and the other one silver. The two tornadoes nearly collided with each other, but both were able to avoid that from happening. 

Chaos WarGreymon was just about to settle down when suddenly...

"Atomic Ray!!" He was blasted from behind, no doubt from HiAndromon. But even before he could turn behind to see his attacker, another attack was shot at point blanc when he turned his head away slightly. This made Chaos WarGreymon slightly flustered, how could HiAndromon be so fast? He then caught on HiAndromon, and nearly choked out in disbelief as he saw another HiAndromon hovering close near the other one.

"What's the matter?" one of them spoke.

"Can't get enough of both of us?" the other one said.

"What trick is this?" Chaos WarGreymon wondered out loud. 

"With my Copy Paste attack, I can duplicate an exact replica of myself," the first HiAndromon answered, leaving out the part about them losing a certain percentage of power while in their duo mode.

"And now take this! Atomic Ray!!" the second HiAndromon bellowed.

Chaos WarGreymon evaded the attack by flying upwards, where he was blocked by Black WarGreymon.

"Going somewhere?" he asked.

"Damn it!" Chaos WarGreymon said angrily. "Mega Claw!!" he slashed his claws towards Black WarGreymon, but the attack was blocked by Black WarGreymon's own claws.

"I show you how it's supposed to be done! Mega Claw!!" Black WarGreymon attacked his evil twin counterpart with the same attack, and hit Chaos WarGreymon's chest. Soon, both Mega digimons exchanged powerful blows towards each other so quickly that in one minute almost fifty blows were exchanged. Then, they powered up themselves and launched themselves as tornadoes towards each other. The battle between the WarGreymons continued for nearly an hour, when Chaos WarGreymon finally detected a weakness of Black WarGreymon.

"He's tiring!" Chaos WarGreymon said gleefully. "Say good-bye, Black WarGreymon!!" he bellowed and energized a massive fireball with both his arms raised upwards. "Terra ---"

"Not so fast! Atomic Ray!!" 

"Atomic Ray!!"

The two HiAndromons had intercepted Chaos WarGreymon's attempts to finish off Black WarGreymon. Their attacks evaporated the fireball Chaos WarGreymon was about to launch. This made the dragon man digimon even angrier.

"Curse it! Great Tornado!!" he attacked the two HiAndromons, whose speed were decreased as well while they were separated into two entities. The HiAndromons fell into the grounds and merged back into one HiAndromon. He groaned slightly as he tried to stand up, but again he was rammed by Chaos WarGreymon, which managed to cause some serious damages on HiAndromon's armor. 

"Mega Claw!!" Chaos WarGreymon cried as he was about to ram HiAndromon again. His claw pierced through HiAndromon's thick armor and HiAndromon let out a sickening howl before dissolving into million bits of data particles. Chaos WarGreymon growled triumphantly and was about to absorb the data particles when Black WarGreymon stopped him by launching a Terra Destroyer towards him, thus unabling Chaos WarGreymon to increase his strength.

"I'll make you pay for what you did to my friend, Chaos WarGreymon!" Black WarGreymon said solemnly, and focused his remaining powers towards his claws. He raised both claws upwards, and as a massive black fireball formed above his hands his body glowed with black aura as well. Black WarGreymon knew that his chance to defeat Chaos WarGreymon was very slim, but he refused to give up just yet. He willed every power that was left inside his body towards the glowing orb he'd formed, determined to deliver one last blow towards Chaos WarGreymon. Black WarGreymon thought about the Bakemons, the Phantomons and his comrade HiAndromon, all slaughtered by Chaos WarGreymon without mercy. He knew that what he was about to do was suicidal... a kamikaze attack. 

"YAAAAARRGGHHHHH!!! TERRA DESTROYER!!" 

He launched the final Terra Destroyer towards Chaos WarGreymon, and instantly felt that he was severely weakened. The massive attack collided with Chaos WarGreymon who was about to perform a counter-attack, and caused a massive explosion. Black WarGreymon then felt something strange was happening to him, and as he looked down he saw that his lower limbs were beginning to dissolve into data particles. Soon, his upper extremities and torso suffered the same fate, and he closed his eyes before every remaining parts of himself combusted.

The smoke from Black WarGreymon's kamikaze attack began to subside after a few minutes. A figure emerged from the smoke. 

"Blast!" Chaos WarGreymon cussed, holding his torso. Black fluid escaped his claws, spilling itself onto the floors. A large part of his armor was broken, damaged and destroyed. Chaos WarGreymon was severely hurt, although thanks to the extra power boost from Chaos Specter he had managed to survive Black WarGreymon's final attack, which would be fatal if imposed to other digimons. He could no longer walk properly, his left leg was limped. He felt so weak that he could not even fly his way towards the doorway leading to the exit of the cave. Chaos WarGreymon didn't know where the exit leads to, but he hoped that it would lead him straight to the crystal which Chaos Specter had ordered for him to retrieve. He wasn't in any condition to fight anymore. In fact, even though he had survived the attack he was crippled for the rest of his lives. Chaos WarGreymon silently hoped that there would be a remedy for his condition, and slowly made his way towards the exit.

The exit took him towards a large metallic door which led to a chamber. Chaos WarGreymon was sure that behind the door was the place where he would be able to retrieve the crystal his master had so wanted. Focusing every bits of his depleting energy, he rammed the door and the door opened. 

Chaos WarGreymon groaned slightly, and suddenly he glowed with silver lights. After ramming the door open he had absolutely small amount of energy left within him, and could no longer sustain his Mega level. Chaos WarGreymon then de-digivolved into an Agumon. He looked like a regular Agumon, but the orange color on him looked duller than any regular Agumon. Silver markings in a shape of two short thin lines were visible under Agumon's eyes and on his paws and foot. He had been a regular Agumon before, but after bestowed with the Chaos powers from Chaos Specter, he half-guessed that some of the effects had rubbed in every of his digivolutionary forms. (A/N: I'll refer him as Chaos Agumon from now on)

Chaos Agumon passed over the doorway and emerged into a giant and dim underground cavern. In the center, there was a tall stone pillar with a staircase leading to the very top where a glimmering purple crystal hovering over a podium. A beam of light made the crystal seen as if begging to be taken, and the crystal itself was shining with soft white-violet lights which lit the dark cavern. The pillar was surrounded by water where an uneven set of stepping-stones formed a bridge. Groaning, Chaos Agumon began to limp his way towards the pillar.

When he reached the bottom of the stone pillar, he saw that he had to take a flight of stony stairs in order to reach to the top. He climbed the stairs one step at a time, and estimated that there were almost fifty steps of stairs he had to climb before reaching the top. It was hard work, as he was crippled, severely weak, and could not fly all the way up. He was feeling hungry as well, but then he hastily bit his lip, imagining how Chaos Piedmon and Chaos Seadramon would react when he would return to the Velvet Claw in his Rookie form. 

'Coming to think of it, how am I going to go back?' he thought to himself despairingly. 

After almost an hour of climbing the stairs he finally reached the podium. There it was, the purple crystal which he was sent to retrieve. The crystal was hovering on its own, emitting strange violet-white lights all over the dark cave. 

"You're sure are a lot of trouble to get to," Chaos Agumon said as he watched the crystal with fascination. "What could be so important with this crystal that master would want it so badly?" 

Suddenly, a ghostly image appeared within the crystal and caught the attention of the Rookie digimon. It had the shape of two serpents entwined into each other. Each of the head were a pair of glowing red eyes, and the crystal which was formerly glowing with bright violet-white lights suddenly emitted dark red lights. The dark red lights then intensified into red beams of lights and were focused on Chaos Agumon. The Rookie digimon felt overwhelmed and due to his weakened condition, he instantly dropped to the grounds. The last thing he saw was the crystal hovering closer to him before everything went black.


	15. Revelations

**DISCLAIMER: **I don't own Digimon Adventures, Digimon 02, Digimon World 2 and 3. 

**Note:** I want to thank all of you who took the time to review this fic. The reviews are really encouraging me to write more. Thanks again.

**Gerjo** -- Thanks for reviewing my fic twice and for your comments. I'm really glad that you like this story.   
**Aino-Yui, NoRatCat, LodisLord** -- Thanks for reviewing. I hope you're still reading this. Sorry that I took so long to update sometimes.  
**Bartleby** -- I really appreciate your comment, thanks. I've fixed a few things on the pilot chapter about three months ago to make it more believable. Thanks for reviewing.  
**CK** -- Thanks for reviewing. Pokemon? Well maybe the pilot chapter....  
**Gundamvid** -- Thanks for reviewing and for the suggestions.   
**RB3** -- Thanks for reviewing and for the suggestions. I've fixed the description of Gennai in the pilot episode. I've had plans for a Ryo fic as one of the two prequels for this fic, but I'm still thinking of the major plot yet so it won't be around for another few months.  
**LotusStar, im dum** -- Thanks for reviewing, I hope you're still reading this fic. =)  


* * *

**VENGEANCE   
  
- Chapter 14 - Revelations -  
  
by **

**Alforce Zero**

The town of Harmona, located at the southern west quadrant of the East sector was known to many as the residing place of peaceful digimons. It was the only town built at the south quadrant of the East sector. While the size of the town was nowhere equal if compared to Asuka City on the central quadrant of the sector, or the Seiryuu City on the Seiryuu Archipelago of the eastern quadrant, Harmona had its own unique traits which made it a pleasant place of its own.

Consisted mainly of lush forests, greenlands and an acre-wide town square, Harmona was a beautiful place indeed. The air there was fresh and the climate was cool and comfortable due to the soft zephyr blowing every now and then. The building structures of the town resembled Asuka City, but had a lot less number of buildings. From the mountain regions came Harmona's beautiful waterfalls which led to the rivers surrounding the town, and the rivers then led towards the sea. The fact that it was located near the beach, and expanded until the mountainous area of the quadrant, made Harmona an ideal resting stop for any marine, air or land digimons to take a break from their long journey. Yes, Harmona was a large town, not a highly developed place but a pleasant one nonetheless. 

Most digimons residing at Harmona were Rookies and Champions, and a little number of them were Armor digimons as well. They were known to be hospitable, good-natured and kind regardless of their attributes. Vaccine, Virus and Data type digimons lived together in harmony, hence the town name Harmona, under the leadership of three peace-loving Ultimate digimons. Each digimon represented its own attribute, and interestingly enough the three of them were of the same type. Monzaemon, WaruMonzaemon and Pandamon were all Puppet types, and under their leadership Harmona had managed to stay in peace even during the dark era of Myotismon, the Dark Masters and the Digimon Emperor. And speaking of the Dark Masters, the WaruMonzaemon of Harmona was a LOT different from that of Machinedramon's bumbling henchmon. Together, the three of them were known as the elders of Harmona, being the first digimons to reside inside Harmona.

However, the peacefulness of Harmona was disrupted after the arrival of Chaos Piedmon and his army of evil digimons. Under the order of Chaos Specter, Chaos Piedmon and his army of evil digimons invaded Harmona in order to conquer it. The Harmona elders were wise enough to surrender peacefully in order to prevent the Harmona digimons from being deleted mercilessly by their stronger foes. Without much effort, Chaos Piedmon was successful in taking over Harmona for his master.

* * *

********

Over the past one week, Davis had been trying to enjoy his holidays but could not find the right way to do it. He was bored of playing the video games and most of his soccer friends were not even in Odaiba. They had either gone for a holiday with their parents, or were visiting their relatives. Even his fellow Digidestined friends seemed to be able to find something to do.

Kari, along with her parents and brother, and Gatomon too, had all went up north to Hokkaido for a vacation four days before, or three days after the defeat of NeoDevimon.

Ken had taken up a part-time summer job tutoring the neighbouring kids upon requests of their parents. It was a volunteer job, although at first the parents had insisted that they wanted to pay Ken but he politely refuse to take the money, saying that he was very glad to be able to help the kids. Amongst of his 'students' were the former Dark Spore-infected Digidestined. 

'He really suits to be the bearer of Kindness,' Davis thought to himself with a slight smile, and could not help himself to feel proud of his former DNA Digivolving partner. 

As for Yolei, aside from preparing herself to start Junior High by asking advices from her predecessors Mimi and Sora, spent most of her free time helping the family managing the grocery store. 

'Poor Yolei,' Davis thought, smirking to himself. 'Maybe I should just go over there for a few good rows of words.'

Three days earlier, Cody had spotted a poster saying that a Kendo tournamentship was about to be held at Odaiba in another two weeks time. The new bearer of Knowledge was practically excited after seeing the poster, and was wondering whether he was good enough to enter. The other Digidestined had encouraged him to enter, and his grandfather agreed to train him harder for the tournament. The only setback was that the boy was worried that he was needed at the Digital World. Davis and the others assured him that should anything happen at the Digital World, they would be able to handle it and that they would call on him only whenever he was greatly needed. Even Armadillomon gave Cody his full support, and thus, Cody began to train harder.

'He's already skillful enough though,' Davis mused with himself.

And as for T.K., Davis had never seen him to be so happy. Sure, the boy was cheerful whenever Davis met him, but after the destruction of NeoDevimon, Davis could see that T.K. truly was happy. It was as if something that was haunting him for a long time had finally left him for good. Strangely enough, as far as Davis knew T.K. too was pretty much bored of not having much to do. Furthermore, his mother was working and Matt too was busy practicing with the Teenage Wolves for their upcoming concert which would take place on early autumn. He had asked Davis to join him for a game of basketball from time to time, but as Davis preferred soccer he declined the offer everytime the blonde boy asked him. However, with Ken busy tutoring the kids, Cody with the tournament, Yolei with the grocery store and Kari on vacation, to the surprise of the both of them, they started to hang out together, and became good friends over the course of three days. T.K. seemed to be forever-so-happy to tell Davis of his early adventures and how he had been a crybaby when he was young. Davis also learnt of the reason why he was so close with Kari.

**--- Flashback ---**

"After Tai, Matt, Joe, Izzy, and their digimons save for Gomamon were turned to keychains by Piedmon, only I, Kari and Sora, and our digimons were left to battle the Dark Master. We ran deep into the caste and hid beneath a wooden platform, hoping that Piedmon wouldn't find us there. Unfortunately he managed to discover us, and Angewomon and Garudamon had to distract him while the three of us, Patamon and Gomamon made a run for our lives. Sora told me then that no matter what happened I must made sure that Kari was safe from Piedmon. It was a hard task for me and I was not confident, but seeing how Gomamon and Sora had risked their lives to retrieve Matt's keychain for me made me determined to save Kari and to find a way to defeat Piedmon. At the balcony of the fortress, we found a basket of ropes which was there for no reason, if I remember correctly, but as there were no other way we had to use the ropes to climb down the fortress. However, the rope had magically raised itself towards the dark sky and Patamon told us to climb it. But then Piedmon arrived and cut the rope, sending us towards the abyss below after he had defeated Angemon. It was then that my Crest of Hope finally lit up, and digivolved Angemon into MagnaAngemon. MagnaAngemon saved us and changed the keychains back to their former selves..."

"Woah, woah, T.S.! Slow down you're talking way too fast and I couldn't see the reason why you're telling me this for the THIRD time this few days?" Davis groaned as he watched Patamon and Veemon playing together at the field. He was sitting under a large, shady tree and T.K. was leaning in front of him. Both of them were seeking refuge against the sun rays under the canopy of the tree.

T.K., who was leaning against the tree, just shrugged with a sheepish smile on his face. "Third time? I've told you this before?"

'And I thought I'm the absent-minded one,' Davis thought incredulously. "Yes, T.P. You've told me this yesterday, and the day before yesterday." 

"Heh.. sorry about that Davis," T.K. said, grinning. "What was it that you wanted to know again?"

"I swear, after you Trans-Digivolved with Patamon that day, you seemed to be way OUT of it!" Davis said good-naturedly before frowning slightly. "I was asking..."

"On how I got to be closer to Kari right?" T.K. cut him back with a smile. "I got to know her during the time when Machinedramon separated me, Kari and Sora from Tai and Izzy. Kari was very sick that time, and I was worried for her too. We got to know each other then, but we never really talked much, and pretty much lost contact after returning back here. Over the course of the years before I moved here to Odaiba, sometimes I've thought of her, and apparently she'd thought about m---"

"Do not!" Davis interrupted suddenly, his tone was slightly shrill. 

T.K. grinned. "Do to," he said teasingly.

"Kari was so not thinking about you that time, because it was then I met her," Davis retorted. "We met right here, at the swings over there..." Davis pointed towards the swings which was at the farthest end of the park. "I was playing football on my own, and there she was sitting at the swings watching me. When I looked at her, she asked me whether I could push the swings for her, as her big brother couldn't accompany her that day. And that, T.C., was the beginning of a _beautiful_ friendship."

"Well, I still met her first," T.K. pointed out triumphantly, and grinned. 

"Oh whatever," Davis snorted, and rolled his eyes. The two young teens then laughed of their exchanged remarks.

"Anyway Davis, for what's worth, the two of us are really just good friends. So, you don't have anything to worry about," T.K. added as an afterthought assuringly. 

Davis's eyes narrowed sceptically. "You mean, you're not going out together?"

T.K. chuckled slightly. "Not that I know of. I really like Kari, but not romantically. Both of us are too young for that anyway. And both of us agreed that we're better off as friends. She even said that I reminded her of Tai in some ways."

"Oh..."

"Anyway, I'll tell you this one thing. She's very impressed of you though, the only one who wasn't affected by MaloMyotismon's illusions. If it weren't for you, who knows what would happen to all of us," T.K. said.

Hearing that comment, Davis's face lit up and he smiled broadly.

**--- End Flashback ---**

Davis smiled after recollecting the conversation he had with T.K. two days before, at the park of Odaiba. The conversation was enlightening, and he was glad for that as it made him and T.K. understand each other a lot better. They talked about stuffs ranging from sports, studies, future ambitions, and it didn't take them long to become good friends as well. Sure, they were friends before, but they rarely talk about anything else other than digimons and Digidestined matters. Davis had long accepted the fact that T.K. and Kari were close, but having that conversation made him no longer jealous of the Digidestined of Hope. The snappish comments and him calling T.K. all sorts of other names were just some of his old habits that won't go away that easily. Davis made a point to try call T.K. his right name should they meet again.

"Hey Veemon!" he called over to Veemon, who was watching the television intently.

The blue little dragon glanced towards his partner. "Yeah?"

"Care for a visit to the Digital World?"

"Hey, that's not a bad idea!" Veemon squealed in delight. "Now?"

"Hold on for a sec, I'm gonna ask T.K. whether he and Patamon want to go with us. T.K.'s the only Digidestined who has the same amount of free time as me," Davis said and took his D-Terminal to convey the message to T.K.

_"Hey T.K., wanna join me and Veemon on a trip to the Digital World? - __Davis__"_

"Now to go and get ready," Davis said and went back into his bedroom. He took out a piece of paper and wrote a message to his parents or June, saying that he would be at the Digital World. The Motomiyas all knew about the Digital World since Veemon was living with them. He selected a plain light blue T-shirt and a matching dark blue vest and a dark brown pair of shorts. Just as he finished changing, his D-Terminal beeped indicating that a message had been received.

_"Sure, we'll meet you guys at the park in fifteen minutes. - T.K."_

"Great! That'll give us enough time to eat something on the way," Veemon said happily.

"You think of nothing except your stomach, Veemon," Davis teased.

They each grabbed a sandwich at a nearby kiosk while on the way towards the park. When they reached the park, T.K. and Patamon were already there. T.K. was wearing a black tank-top under a white unbuttoned shirt, and a pair of light brown kargo shorts which reached his knees, and a beige hat. Patamon, as usual, was sitting comfortably on top of his head.

"All set?" T.K. asked, noting that Davis and Veemon were eating. He chuckled lightly.

"Yeah!" Davis said.

"Well," T.K. said, and raised his Diginizer. "Digi-Port, open!"

* * *

The golden oval-shaped interdimensional gateway between their world and the Digital World materialized instantly in front of the four of them, its soft gold lights was beckoning them to enter it. After Davis, who was the last to enter, went into the gate, the gateway closed itself automatically. 

********

Somewhere along the path between the central and the southern quadrants of the East sector was a vast tract of grasslands called the Wind Prairie. It was located about ten miles from Harmona Town, and the view there was breathtaking. Wind Prairie was covered by lush green grass, and there were no trees growing except for a few cactus trees growing at random locations. Once in a while, soft comfortable breeze could be felt by anyone who was there. 

A small, colorful polygonal dinosaur digimon was walking alone on the grasslands. He was a ToyAgumon, a Rookie digimon of Vaccine type. In a way he resembled Agumon, but his body structures were totally inorganic. The digimon was panting heavily while walking, and once in a while he would take a glance towards the back as if he was being chased by someone.

"I must go to Asuka City," the digimon muttered between the short breaths he was taking. "I must get help! But I'm so tired right now... maybe I should take a short rest for a while." 

ToyAgumon went up towards a large blackened stone and sat there, leaning himself against the stone. Behind the large stone was a small water-hole, and ToyAgumon took the opportunity to quench his thirst. 

"I hope they have stopped chasing me," he said to himself as he took a sip of water from his squarish claws. "But it's a long way ahead to Asuka City. It'll take days for me to reach there, who knows what'll happen until then." He looked sadly at his reflection, which was staring back at him from the water-hole. "Okay ToyAgumon, be brave now. The fate of Harmona depends on you," he said to assure himself of his worries.

Unbeknownst to him however, while he was resting two pair of eyes were watching him from afar, watching his every moves intently.

* * *

********

Davis and T.K., along with their partners walked out of the golden interdimensional gateway which connected their world with the Digital World, and found themselves standing in front of Asuka Laboratory. The Knightmons who were guarding the entrance bowed slightly towards them in respect, and allowed them to enter. As if detecting their presence, Gennai and Piximon walked out of the laboratory. However they seemed to be mildly surprised when they saw the two Digidestined and the digimons.

"Digidestined, what brings you here?" Gennai asked, his blue eyes gazing into Davis and T.K.'s eyes.

"Nothing much really, Gennai. We were wondering whether it'll be allright if the four of us spend our free time today here?" Davis asked.

Gennai nodded. "Why of course. Digidestined are free to come and go as they please. However now that you're here we need you to check up a few things for us?"

Both Davis and T.K. instantly looked interested.

"You mean, something is wrong?" T.K. asked.

"I'm not certain," Gennai replied. "Nothing much had happened around here since you deleted NeoDevimon. However we are suspecting that something strange might be happening with some of the smaller towns around this sector."

"Smaller towns?" Veemon asked. "There are more towns around here other than Asuka and Seiryuu?"

"Of course, Veemon," Piximon replied. "The East sector itself is an extremely large sector. So far, your adventures actually took place only within the central and the western quadrant. Neither of you have ventured outside these two quadrants."

"Think of it like your country, Japan," Gennai suggested helpfully. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but except for the times when the digimons invaded your world neither of you had the opportunity to go to other countries of your world. The same concept applies here in the Digital World. The East sector is divided mainly into five quadrants; the north, south, east, west and central quadrants. Asuka City is in the central quadrant, while the Seiryuu Archipelago and the File Island are located within the eastern quadrant, which includes the oceans. The places you have been before are all located within the two quadrants Piximon mentioned earlier."

Davis and T.K. nodded, and Gennai continued to explain.

"T.K., your first adventures at the Digital World mainly took place inside the eastern quadrant. Myotismon's castle was located in the deserts somewhere near the north-west region, and Piedmon's fortress was at the center of the quadrant. When you came back last year, all of you were taken back to the eastern quadrant again where Ken had placed the control spires to block the power of digivolution. The whole of the eastern quadrant were placed under his control, but even during those times we had taken safety precautions to avoid him from invading the other quadrants. However, with his efforts thwarted by the Digidestined, he never got the opportunity to move farther."

"Woah, wait a minute," Davis interrupted. "Last time Izzy had shown us a map of the Digital World, and the places where Ken had placed his control spires. It seemed like the whole Digital World was under his control."

Gennai nodded knowingly. "The eastern quadrant is a massive piece of land mostly surrounded by seas and ocean, though it is still part of the Server continent. To understand this better, think of your country Japan as the easttern quadrant and you'll get the idea. Now, imagine that there is a small part of land connecting Japan and Siberia. That is how the eastern quadrant connected with the other quadrants."

"Got it," Davis and T.K. said together simultaneously.

"Back to our problem earlier, what I meant was that were unable to establish any connection with the other towns of the southern and northern quadrants. We've managed to form a connection with Seiryuu city, and the towns and villages of the western quadrant. The southern quadrant only has one small town called Harmona, but we couldn't form a connection between the lab and Harmona. The same goes for the three main towns at the northern quadrant."

"Just now, the three angel disciples of MagnaAngemon had gone to the northern quadrant via the teleporter to inspect the problem," Piximon continued. "Now that the two of you are here, why don't you look up the southern quadrant to check out Harmona Town?"

"Sure!" Davis said instantly.

"We'd love to see the other parts of the sector," T.K. said.

"Thank you, the four of you," Piximon said gratefully.

"However, we're not sure of the problem yet. There may not be any problem at all, but we'd rather check than make any assumptions," Gennai said. "So if you have the time, it may be better if you fly there with your digimons rather than teleporting. That way, you can see whether there's any problem along the way."

"We understand," T.K. said. "Ready, Patamon?"

"Yeah!" Patamon, who was sitting on T.K.'s head as usual, chirped exuberantly.

"How about you, buddy?" Davis asked.

"Whenever you are, Davis!"

"Okay," Davis said. Both he and T.K. then pointed their Diginizers upwards and cried...

"Diginizer Energize!!" Waves of blue and green energy beams showered Veemon and Patamon, energizing them to digivolve.

"Veemon Digivolve to... ExVeemon!"

"Patamon Armor Digivolve to... Pegasusmon! Flying Hope!"

Davis and T.K. boarded their respective digimons and departed towards the southern quadrant.

* * *

********

After resting for more than one hour, ToyAgumon decided to continue his journey towards Asuka City with full determination, despite his size and power. He didn't want to waste any precious time, knowing that to free Harmona Town from the clutches of Chaos Piedmon he needed the help of the digimons of Asuka City. He had heard of some of the famed digimons were residing there - Leomon, MagnaAngemon PM and his three angel disciples and the great digimon trainer Piximon. What more, the most recent news about the Digidestined getting the new power of the Diginizers gave ToyAgumon more the reason to reach Asuka City as fast as he could.

Deep in his heart, ToyAgumon thought about the digimons of Harmona. He was disappointed when Harmona easily fell into Chaos Piedmon's hand as none of the digimons there were willing to fight. The three elders were powerful, but Chaos Piedmon's power far exceeded a normal Mega digimon. Their decision was wise, but then they had to pay for the price. For almost two weeks since Harmona was taken over, the digimons there had been constantly bullied by Chaos Piedmon and his fellow digimons. The three elders were imprisoned inside a prison made of force-field which they couldn't escape through, while the other digimons of Harmona were enslaved and bullied.

The Wind Prairie was a big mass of grasslands, and it would take ToyAgumon more than a day just to cross through the grassland. ToyAgumon saw a thick jungle from a far, and contemplated that he would reach the jungle by dusk. 

"It's the best I could do," ToyAgumon said.

Suddenly, a loud exploding sound was heard from somewhere near ToyAgumon's back. The Rookie digimon turned around and was shocked to see a large stone exploded into smitherins right in front of his eyes. Not far from him, two Tankmons, one green and the other one blue, were approaching him. One had apparently fired a missile towards him, and while it missed him it was a close call as the Tankmon had meant for the missile to be blasted towards the stone near where ToyAgumon was standing.

"Going somewhere, little toy?!" the blue Tankmon asked smugly. "Chaos Piedmon will be so glad to have a word with you after the two of us deliver you to him."

ToyAgumon gasped, and quickly turned round to start running towards the forest. Seeing that he won't be able to make it as the forests were still too far, his eyes began to water. He wasn't able to get help, and had let his fellow friends down.

"Help!" he cried in vain, still running for his dear life. "Help! Help!"

"It's no use running, ToyAgumon!" the green Tankmon bellowed. "You'll just making it harder!"

ToyAgumon ignored the Tankmons and continued running, scared out of his minds. Unfortunately, his feet was caught at a small rock and he stumbled on the grounds. Unable to move, he cowered as the looming shadows of the Tankmons approached him.

"Help! Help!"

* * *

********

Pegasusmon and ExVeemon had been flying towards the southern quadrant for more than an hour while carrying their partners and enjoying the surroundings. Even they hadn't had the chance to travel much, as their previous adventures were held elsewhere. Admiring the beauty of the scenery and the winds that were blowing against them, the four of them were glad that they came to the Digital World.

"Don't you forget though, we're on a mission," Davis said seriously.

"Sure we don't, Davis," ExVeemon replied back and glanced towards his back where Davis was sitting. "No idea where we are, though."

T.K. scanned the scenery downstairs intently, which mostly consisted of forests and small hills. What fascinated him was that the trees bore many unusual colors instead of the usual boring green. For the past one hour, they had crossed mountains, valleys, rivers and some small digimon villages and colonies which seemed to be undisturbed. Both Pegasusmon and ExVeemon were flying at an adequately-fast speed.

"Everything seems okay so far," T.K. said. "No signs of anything out of ordinary." They were now crossing over a region of deep forests.

Pegasusmon chuckled a little. "That's good news. Hey, heads up everyone. Look in front of you!"

Everyone followed Pegasusmon's gaze and saw that right after the forest, they would come across a vast greenlands. The scenery was breathtaking, and the four of them could make out the movements of three figures, two of them larger than the other one. However, as they approached the greenlands they saw that a small digimon which vaguely looked like a colorful version of Agumon being attacked by two Tankmons.

"We've got to save that little digimon!" T.K. said worriedly as they saw the colorful Agumon stumbled onto the grounds and could no longer move. "The two Tankmons are going to kill him if we don't do something. Pegasusmon, stop them!"

"Right! Star Shower!!" Pegasusmon cried, and sent rains of stars from the skies towards the Tankmons. The sudden attack surprised the Tankmons more than actually injuring them, but they had stopped attacking the Rookie digimon to see who was attacking them.

* * *

********

ToyAgumon was more than relieved when he realized that he was going to be saved by someone. Someone had actually heard his pleas of help. The Tankmons cursed angrily for the sudden attack, but they had stopped approaching him and ToyAgumon quickly got up and looked towards the sky, when he saw a fairly large, biped humanoid blue dragon digimon and an armored pegasus digimon landed near him. Both digimons seemed to be carrying humans.

"He looked almost like..." ToyAgumon thought out loud in amazement, before he was interrupted by the angry shouts of the Tankmons.

"Hey! Just what do you think you're doing?!" the green Tankmon bellowed angrily.

"How dare you attack us! Just who do you think you are?!" the blue Tankmon shouted.

"Well, I'm called ExVeemon, and I'm here to stop you from hurting that little guy," the blue dragon digimon introduced himself. The human, who was perched on his back, slided down easily onto the grounds.

"Yeah, go get 'em, ExVeemon!" he cried.

"Stand back Davis, this might get dangerous," ExVeemon said warningly.

"Need any help, ExVeemon?" the pegasus digimon asked.

"Nah, Pegasusmon, I can handle these two bullies. You save that poor Rookie digimon," ExVeemon replied confidently. 

"Suit yourself," Pegasusmon replied as the human who was riding him got down. Both boys and Pegasusmon then approached ToyAgumon.

"Well, I haven't seen this kind of digimon around," the blonde-haired boy with a hat said.

"He looks like a Lego version of Agumon," the brown-haired boy with a pair of goggles on his head added. "I wonder what he's called." 

"I'm ToyAgumon," ToyAgumon said shyly. "Thank you for saving me."

"Well hi, ToyAgumon," the blonde said. "We're the Digidestined. I'm T.K. and he's Davis."

"You're safe now, ToyAgumon," the boy whose name was Davis, told him. "My partner, ExVeemon, will teach them a lesson they'll never forget."

The two Tankmons readied their positions to attack ExVeemon together with one blow. The green Tankmon raised it's cannon-like snout while the blue Tankmon aimed its arms, which were equipped with machine-guns. They were determined to finish up ExVeemon once and for all, but little did they know that ExVeemon was an extremely tough opponent to fight with, as his strength was beyond the normal level of a Champion digimon.

"Hyper Cannon!!"

"Machine-Gun Arms!!"

Two huge blasts were fired towards ExVeemon, who instantly puffed his chest forward and summoned, "Vee Laser!!"

The three attacks caused a huge explosion as they cancelled each other, sending out smokes around them. The Tankmons then charged forward to ram ExVeemon when he was least expecting them, as they were sure that ExVeemon couldn't see quite well with his vision blinded by the smoke. However, what happened next was totally the other way round; it was the Tankmons who were caught unexpectedly as ExVeemon successfully grabbed their cannon-like snouts. Undaunted,the Tankmons pushed themselves forward with all their might, and ExVeemon stopped them by pushing them back. These went on for almost five minutes before ExVeemon lost his patience.

"These silly bucket of bolts! They just don't know.. when to quit!! Arrggghhhh!!" ExVeemon roared, and with his mighty strength he lifted both Tankmons from the grounds. The Tankmons struggled hard to break free from ExVeemon's grasps but their efforts were in vain, as ExVeemon's grip was strong. ExVeemon saw a large stone near a water-hole (the place where ToyAgumon was resting earlier), and threw the blue Tankmon towards the stone first. The blue Tankmon crashed onto the stone but his thick armor had protected him from getting injured. However, his armor had suffered major dents and he wasn't able to move. ExVeemon then proceeded by throwing the green Tankmon towards the stone, and it crashed onto the blue Tankmon. The two Tankmons were knocked out unconscious and the water from the water-hole caused their programmes to malfunction.

"That takes care of them," ExVeemon said with satisfaction, and he approached his friends and ToyAgumon.

"My goodness, he's really powerful!" ToyAgumon gasped in total admiration. "Is he an Ultimate digimon?"

"Nope, he's only a Champion," Davis answered proudly. "But he surely packs quite a punch, right ExVeemon?"

"Heh heh, right! You bet I am!" ExVeemon declared. He looked at ToyAgumon. "Hi there. I'm ExVeemon!"

"I..I'm ToyAgumon," ToyAgumon replied.

"How are you feeling?" ExVeemon asked.

"I'm alright, thanks to you." 

"Now, what were you doing out here all alone?" T.K. asked.

"I'm on my way to Asuka City to meet the digimons there. I need their help."

"We're from Asuka City. Why would you need our help?" Davis inquired.

"Harmona Town, the town where I live, was attacked by Chaos Piedmon two weeks ago. Our elders were imprisoned and the rest of us were enslaved. I've managed to escape four days ago," ToyAgumon said.

"Tell you what? Why don't we just teleport there instead of you walking all the way there?" T.K. suggested.

"Could we? Really?"

"You bet," Davis said. "Hold on tight to any one of us."

* * *

********

_"Subject is ready to begin experimentation. Health status is one hundred percent."_

"Give me the data of the subject."

_"Acknowledged. Subject is DemiDevimon, a Rookie level Virus type digimon. Attacks are Demi Dart and Evil Whisper."_

"Administer the blood and the digital DNA sample into the subject."

_"Acknowledged. Delivering now... command successful. Blood and digital DNA sample have been administered into the subject."_

"Good. Begin incubating period now."

_"Acknowledged. Beginning procedure of incubation of the subject. Procedure completed, subject is now being incubated."_

Chaos Specter nodded with satisfaction as the computer screen showed him a large tube-like chamber, its size about the same size of the tube chambers which displayed the trapped Harmonious Ones. Inside the tube was an unconscious DemiDevimon, and the tube was filled with strange green liquid. Strange properties shaped like DNA double helix were swirling around the Rookie, and the green liquid began to emit soft green lights after Chaos-AI announced that the incubation period had been initiated .

"Now all I need is the Zeed Crystal," Chaos Specter said grimly. "Chaos WarGreymon should have been back by now, it is almost two weeks since I last saw him."

"What do you plan to do?" Catrina the BlackGatomon, who was sitting on the armrest of the throne, asked. "Are you going to mutate that DemiDevimon into some unknown digimon?"

"Sort of," Chaos Specter replied and stroke Catrina's black fur slowly. "But not to an unknown digimon, I assure you."

The four Harmonious Ones digimons, Azulongmon, Baihumon, Ebonwumon and Zhuqiaomon, were trapped inside a lost dimension. The location of the lost dimension was known only to Chaos Specter. Inside the lost dimension, the four guardian digimons were separated from each other, yet each of them still was able to communicate with each other telepathically. The special tubes's function was only to display their every action. The tubes were the Harmonious Ones' only link with the Digital World. All four of them were actually still in the dark of Chaos Specter's true motive of capturing them. All they knew was that without the four of them to intervene, Chaos Specter's goal to dominate the Digital World would be a lot easier. One other thing they did know was that Chaos Specter was determined to have the power to control time. Over the course of nearing three weeks after their capture, the four guardians communicate with each other telepathically in order not to let anyone else overhear their conversation.

"How in the blazes is that ragged filth of a human is going to have the power to manipulate time from us?!" Zhuqiaomon said furiously. "I myself do not have a single clue of how he is going to extract that power from us."

Azulongmon nodded in agreement. "True. But according to him, the power of time can only be unleashed by the four guardian digimons, namely us. I overheard it during one night when that Chaos Specter is reciting the prophecy of time over and over again to himself."

"So you do know now of the contents of the prophecy?" Baihumon asked.

"Yes."

"Well let us hear it then," one of Ebonwumon's head said. The second one then added, "At least that will give us a clue of what Chaos Specter really wants with us being captured. He keeps saying about wanting to get the power of time though, and I wonder..."

"Quiet!" Zhuqiaomon roared. "Let Azulongmon speak."

Azulongmon was silent for a while, trying to recall what he'd heard from Chaos Specter's own mouth. All of his four eyes were closed as he concentrated hard to remember every lines of the prophecy. Finally, he opened his eyes and recited the prophecy.

_The creation of darkness and time,_

_The fusion of machine and mutant,_

_The power to transcend time,_

_Despite countless downfalls,_

_It shall always return,_

_Unbeatable and undaunted,_

_It will always prevail,_

_One weakness it does possess,_

_Is within its greatest enemy,_

_One with the same power,_

_One of the opposite side,_

_When four greatest join as one,_

_Come forth the savior of time!_


	16. Battlefield : Harmona

_"Chaos Forces"_ is the term coined to mean any digimon, save for the Chaos Generals, who are also working for Chaos Specter.

**Gerjo --** Thanks for reviewing my fic again. I was wondering when are you going to update Dark Light. I'm glad you liked the Davis-T.K. friendship. Yea, I'm really enjoying writing the previous chapter as I've always thinking of a way to make Davis and T.K. close friends.. nothing yaoi, but more on like close friends. Ken will always be his best friend, though. For later chapters, maybe I'll put in something like T.K.-Ken, Ken-Kari, Davis-Kari, Cody-Ken, Cody-Kari, T.K.-Yolei... friendships pairings have no restrictions. And about Chaos WarGreymon, all I can say is that he is going to show up real soon...

**Lavos** -- Sonic Heroes? Seriously, I've never seen Sonic Heroes (yet)... but thanks for the comment. I have plans on developing Chaos Specter's character, which includes his past, somewhere towards the end of this series... maybe he won't be like Eggman then.

**Psychorabbit** -- Thanks for reviewing, I'm glad you like this fic. Why so little reviews? Well I hope I get more soon...

* * *

-

**_ _**

**VENGEANCE**

_- Chapter 15: Battlefield : Harmona-_

_-----------------------------------------------------------------_

- 

-

On Harmona Town, one particular Chaos General was absolutely furious after receiving the news of the escape of a particular ToyAgumon. He was away for four days to report back to Chaos Specter on board the Velvet Claw, and to carry out other others for his master. For ten days he had been watching over the captured town, and made sure that everything was under control. During his absence, he had placed a MetalTyrannomon in charge and stationed three DarkTyrannomons and two Darkrizamons to roam around the town and along the borders.

"What do you mean, one of them has escaped?!" Chaos Piedmon bellowed angrily towards the hulking metallic grey dinosaur digimon. "I left you in charge, and you instantly messed up by letting one of them run away! Must I do everything around here myself? The master will not be happy when he got hold of this, I ensure you, and I'm willing to bet that he has already know about this!"

MetalTyrannomon lowered his head, his eyes staring into Chaos Piedmon's defiantly. While he worked under the Mega digimon, being yelled at was not something he usually tolerated. He was a proud digimon on his own before entering the Chaos Forces, which was Chaos Specter's army of evil digimons. However in this case, Chaos Piedmon was far more stronger than him being a Mega, while he was an Ultimate, and this knowledge was enough to stop him from barking back towards the Mega.

"I've already sent for two Tankmons to catch that ToyAgumon before he could reach anywhere he was going," he said slowly.

Chaos Piedmon raised an eyebrow sceptically, but nobody could see it since his face was covered by the mask worn by every Piedmon around. On his left hand was a small black hankerchief, while his right hand was holding one of his two swords.

"And where are they? Shouldn't they be back by now with that Rookie?" Chaos Piedmon countered back derisively.

MetalTyrannomon remained silent.

"To think that you can't even do a good job of eyeing over a Rookie digimon!" Chaos Piedmon continued, his tone was noticably colder than before. His eyes glinted maliciously. "Mistakes like this should be punished," he said slowly.

MetalTyrannomon was taken aback when he heard this.

"What do you mean, general?!" he demanded, a little to harshly as he took several steps away from the Chaos General.

"You know only too well that the master does not tolerate failures, and frankly speaking so do I. Now you have two options, MetalTyrannomon." Chaos Piedmon held out both of his hands. "Neither will be too painful for you, I think so. The sword or the hankerchief?"

"But general, you can't be serious!"

"Oh but I am, fool," Chaos Piedmon said coldly. He took one step ahead towards the Ultimate.

MetalTyrannomon was thinking quickly, trying to save his life. He knew that Chaos Piedmon was going to delete him.

"Wait, please, I beg of you," he said in a croaked voice. "Please, give me one more chance. I'll bring back that Rookie digimon."

"Didn't it ever occur to you that the Rookie had probably gotten the help he needed, and that the Tankmons you had sent to recapture him had probably failed and deleted?" Chaos Piedmon questioned. "If he managed to reach out to those Digidestined, then the first thing they would do is to interfere with the master's plan. Predictably though, they might want to come here to free this town."

"Give me one more chance, general, and I will make sure to stop those Digidestined from freeing this town!" MetalTyrannomon pleaded hopefully.

Chaos Piedmon lowered his hands and paused to consider what MetalTyrannomon had just said.

"I would stick around here myself, but I have other matters to tend to. Your last information however was very useful, but I highly doubt that the leader of the Tyranno Valley will agree with that. And for that I'll spare your life this time, but fail me again and I'll slice you up myself rather than handing you back to MasterTyrannomon!"

MetalTyrannomon nodded, and recollected the time when he, as a mere DarkTyrannomon, rebelled against the Tyrannomon clans to join the Chaos Forces. The leader of the Tyrannomons, MasterTyrannomon, had banished him from ever entering the Tyranno Valley ever again. The inhabitants of Tyranno Valley were mostly Tyrannomons and their pre and post digivolutions, and a little number of them were various other Armor, Champion and Ultimate digimons of dinosaurly origin. The whereabouts of the valley was quite a mystery to other digimons as the inhabitants of Tyranno Valley rarely went out from the valley, and only they knew the exact location of the valley. MetalTyrannomon's betrayal was a great asset towards Chaos Specter as he wanted to take over Tyranno Valley from MasterTyrannomon. He had sold out the exact location of Tyranno Valley in exchange of greater powers, and was granted of sufficient power to digivolve into his Ultimate stage.

"Make full use of your spared life, MetalTyrannomon," Chaos Piedmon warned, snapping MetalTyrannomon out from his deep thoughts.

"Absolutely, general. Thank you," MetalTyrannomon said courteously and watched as Chaos Piedmon vanished out of thin air before him.

MetalTyrannomon scowled slightly, showing his displeasure for Chaos Piedmon and treaded his way back into Harmona Town. He walked up straight towards the town center where the three elders of Harmona were trapped, and couldn't help himself but to mock the elders to vent out his anger towards Chaos Piedmon.

The town center of Harmona consisted of a massive concrete circular clearing, with the buildings of the town built around the clearing. The clearing was as large as a football field inside a stadium. Right at the center of the clearing was a fountain. A group of three marble statues stood in the middle of a circular pool. The tallest statue was that of a Seraphimon, built with bluish-white marble. The statue was shown spreading its five pairs of wings wide, and both hands were raised up impressively. Grouped near the Seraphimon statue was a Gryphonmon statue and a Zanbamon statue. The Gryphonmon statue was built smaller than Seraphimon, and was placed at one side of the angel statue. Built in beige marble, the Gryphonmon statue had its wing spread wide and it's head looking upwards, it's mouth was slightly opened. The Zanbamon statue was built in similar size as the Gryphonmon statue in grey marble. Zanbamon, being a digimon with two heads, one was humanoid while the other looked like a skeletal dinosaur, had both heads looking at the front. The humanoid body which was attached on its four-legged animalic torso was holding two swords, one was pointed upwards while the other was pointing downwards. The statue of Zanbamon had its cape was spread wide.

Near the fountain were the imprisoned elders of Harmona, each was trapped inside a purple dome-like force-field. MetalTyrannomon walked up to the dome which had Monzaemon trapped inside of it.

"You're behind this, aren't you?!" he yelled towards Monzaemon, who had a quizzical look on his face.

"Behind what? Do enlighten me," Monzaemon said calmly, but seriously at the same time.

MetalTyrannomon glared angrily towards the Vaccine-type elder. "Tell me where's that wretched ToyAgumon, now!"

"Which ToyAgumon? I have seen a lot of them," Monzaemon replied, still using the calm tone of his voice.

"The one who had managed to escape the town four days ago! Don't take me as a fool, Monzaemon! I know for a fact that there's no way he could escape so easily," MetalTyrannomon demanded.

Monzaemon remained silent, instead he fixed his face with an annoyingly calm expression towards MetalTyrannomon while thinking of ToyAgumon. He and the other two elders did know how ToyAgumon had escaped, for it was them who had devised a plan for ToyAgumon to get out of Harmona successfully to find help.

**(Flashback)**

"Are you really sure you want to do this, ToyAgumon? It is very dangerous for you to do it on your own," Monzaemon said.

ToyAgumon, who was standing in front of the dome prison of Monzaemon, then replied, "I'm sure, elder Monzaemon. I can't stay here any longer and watch those Chaos Forces bullying us around and keeping us imprisoned. I have to do something, and I'll do it on my own even if there is no digimon around to help me."

Monzaemon nodded. "The pressing matter is how to get you out from this town. I do not think that you can bypass those Darkrizamons guarding along the borders of Harmona. Furthermore, what would you do if you meet MetalTyrannomon or Chaos Piedmon along the way? How would you defend yourself when you encounter them? You are no match for them," he said worriedly.

"I'm willing to take that risk, elder," ToyAgumon said boldly.

"Well said," WaruMonzaemon, who was all the while listening to their conversation, applauded. He had a loud booming voice but since there was no one around he did not bother to lower his voice. WaruMonzaemon and Pandamon, the other elders of Harmona, were imprisoned on each side of Monzaemon.

"Proud to have you as a Harmonian, ToyAgumon," Pandamon said. He had a slightly raspy voice. He then looked towards his left, where Monzaemon was imprisoned. "Surely Monzaemon, this ToyAgumon is the only one who wants to help out. We should believe in him."

WaruMonzaemon snorted suddenly. "Better than most of the other digimons in this town. I do not see any other digimon except this ToyAgumon who wants to help out."

"They wanted to help, but they are just too afraid to stand up against the Chaos Force," Monzaemon said fairly. "They are scared of being deleted. All this time, they have lived in peace. None of them have any battle experience even though they managed to advance into their matured stages. Besides, we have exchanged our freedom for their safety. I rather have myself imprisoned than to see any of the villagers being slaughtered by the Chaos Force."

"I do not see any difference, Monzaemon! They are bullied right in front of our eyes. I have even seen one Darkrizamon kicking around a group of Minomons right there in front of the nursery the day before yesterday!" WaruMonzaemon roared, and pointed his paw towards one small house-like building, which was painted light-pink and faint yellow. One look at the one storeyed building and everyone would know that it was a nursery. "Luckily they were not permitted to kill any digimon, or else the Minomons would be gone."

Pandamon nodded vigorously. "I have to agree with WaruMonzaemon. We did not get our part of the bargain. The Chaos Force should never laid a finger to any digimon of Harmona in exchange of our freedom."

Monzaemon sighed. "I guess the two of you are right."

"Does this mean that I get to go out to seek help?" ToyAgumon asked hopefully.

"Yes. Now listen closely," Monzaemon beckoned for ToyAgumon to stand closer to the dome prison which he was in. "Go to the deepest part of the jungle up north, near the mountain areas. Do not take the main path, as you may encounter one of the Chaos Force there. Creep beyond the bushes, and follow against the flow of the river until you reach the waterfall. Behind the waterfall is a secret cave, which leads to a secret underground tunnel. Take the tunnel and you will reach the end of it by this nightfall if you hurry. If I am not mistaken the exit is covered by bushes which will lead you to the Kicking Forest."

ToyAgumon listened intently to what Monzaemon was telling him.

"How am I going to get to the secret cave behind the waterfall? I don't know how to swim," he inquired.

WaruMonzaemon growled slightly. "Just ask any Gomamon to help you."

"It will take you a day or two to get out of the Kicking Forest," Monzaemon continued. "There are many digimons inside the forest, ranging from Rookie until Ultimate. They are usually harmless, but I do recommend that you refrain from making any sort of attracting noises. You will attract unwanted attentions from them."

"I understand," ToyAgumon said.

"I think it is best if you do not go alone, young one," Pandamon said with his raspy voice.

ToyAgumon nodded sadly. "I think so too, but it'd be hard to persuade anyone to come with me."

"I wish you a safe journey, ToyAgumon," Monzaemon said. "I do hope you find some good companies to help you go to Asuka City. It is a long journey there even for me, let alone you. Just head north to go there."

"I'll do my best, elders!" ToyAgumon said, and darted off quickly to start his journey while the three elders watched him with hope.

**(End Flashback)**

* * *

"That's the whole story, and that's why I need your help," ToyAgumon said hopefully. He had just finished relating the events happening at Harmona towards Davis, T.K., Veemon, Patamon, Gennai, Piximon and MagnaAngemon PM. The eight of them were gathering at the garden in front of Asuka Laboratory in a circle, with ToyAgumon sitting in the middle of the jungle. All of them were shocked to hear that, and were eager to help out the digimons of Harmona regain their freedom. 

"We'll help you, won't we?" Patamon said encouragingly towards T.K.

"You bet!" T.K. answered. "And we'll drive the Chaos Forces out from Harmona for good!"

"Just a minute," Davis said with a frown. "From what ToyAgumon told us just now, the digimons there should learn to stand up towards the Chaos Force themselves instead of hiding from them."

"Davis..." Veemon began.

"But they're too scared to do anything," ToyAgumon said despairingly.

"Davis, are you saying that we're not going to help ToyAgumon's village?" Piximon questioned. "They are in dire need of our help!"

Davis shook his head. "We're not, but T.K. and I, and our partners will. I hope I can get the villagers to stand up towards the Chaos Forces themselves. They should have nothing to be afraid of, all I know is that Chaos Piedmon is not there at the moment leaving only that MetalTyrannomon, the DarkTyrannomons and the Darkrizamons, which are only five in number. Six including MetalTyrannomon. Surely, the digimons of Harmona are more than that!"

T.K. nodded in approval. "I can't say that Davis is wrong. The digimons of Harmona actually stand a better chance of winning now that Chaos Piedmon is not around."

"But MetalTyrannomon is too powerful, he'll obliterate us within seconds!" ToyAgumon protested.

"He's an Ultimate. My partner and I can Trans-Digivolve together to become an Ultimate digimon as well," T.K. said.

Davis nodded. "Yeah, MagnaAngemon is one of the most powerful Ultimate digimon around."

"Thanks," T.K. and Patamon, and MagnaAngemon PM blurted out together.

ToyAgumon still was unconvinced, he had hoped that all of the digimons of Asuka City to come and help him.

"Don't worry, ToyAgumon," Gennai said, trying to convince ToyAgumon. "You can trust them."

MagnaAngemon PM nodded in approval. "I do agree with the Digidestined of Courage, although it does sound a little... reckless, but a wise decision nontheless."

Davis stood up. "C'mon ToyAgumon. We're taking you home." He and Veemon took a few steps away from the group. T.K. and Patamon immediately got up and followed suit.

"But.. I don't understand..."

Piximon hovered close towards ToyAgumon. "Don't you worry. He knows what he's doing."

ToyAgumon hesitated, but this was Piximon, the greatest digimon trainer around, saying this to him.

"All right," he said finally. He stood up and joined Davis, T.K., Veemon and Patamon.

Davis looked at ToyAgumon and flashed a thumbs up. "Don't worry ToyAgumon, your village will get the help it needs. Now hold on to me, we're going to teleport there now." As ToyAgumon did what Davis had just told him, Davis and T.K. activated the teleportation button on their Diginizers. Instantly they were enveloped by streaks of blue and green lights, and were teleported straight towards Harmona Town.

* * *

MetalTyrannomon had received a more disturbing news from one of the DarkTyrannomon he had sent over to look for ToyAgumon. According to the DarkTyrannomon, the two Tankmons he had dispatched earlier were found at the Prairie Wind to be malfunctioning. They however still were able to talk, and told the DarkTyrannomon about their battle with an ExVeemon and that ToyAgumon was saved by two Digidestined. 

"So they are going to come here," MetalTyrannomon muttered to himself. "I should be able to get rid of them, as there are only two of them. ExVeemon is only a Champion, I myself can beat him if those DarkTyrannomons and Darkrizamons failed to do so. The general isn't around now, I better do a good job on this one." MetalTyrannomon then ordered the DarkTyrannomons and Darkrizamons to gather all the villagers of Harmona at the town square in thirty minutes. The DarkTyrannomon complied, and half an hour later, the large town square was full of different types and species of digimons ranging from In Training up till Champion and Armor types.

"It was wise for you all to co-operate!" MetalTyrannomon began, and all the villagers murmured among themselves as they didn't really understood the order. "My order is simple. Later, two Digidestined and their digimons will come here no thanks to your foolish little friend ToyAgumon. They will attempt to fight me and the Chaos Forces, and fail, as no one can defeat the Chaos Forces. However, this act of ToyAgumon must be punished, and from now on, all of you will become slaves for the master of the Chaos Forces, Chaos Specter!"

There was a loud uproar from the crowd, all protesting of the idea.

"Your first task, is to go back to your houses and bring all of your valuable possessions to the center of the square. Slaves are not meant to live in luxury," MetalTyrannomon said with a slight sneer. It was not an order from Chaos Piedmon or Chaos Specter to make the villagers as slaves, but MetalTyrannomon loved the feeling of being the one with the authority, and he took the chance while Chaos Piedmon was away to boss the Harmona villagers as he pleased. He also knew that the mountains of Harmona possessed deep underground caves and mines where a group of Golemons and Gotsumons were assigned to dig out all the precious stones available there. Derived by his greed, he wanted those treasures.

Louder cries of protest resulted from the crowd upon hearing the order.

MetalTyrannomon raised one of his hand/claw. His right claw began to glow with deep red lights. "Silence! Or we will reduce your town to woe... like this! Nuclear Laser!!" he roared, and his claw suddenly erupted with a ray of deep crimson energy beam towards the fountain, and hit the three statues. The upper portions of the three statues exploded instantly upon contact, leaving only the lower portions intact. The elders were somewhat lucky that they were imprisoned inside the dome prison, as the dome deflected all the pieces of marbles that came from the exploded statues.

"I suggest, you all get to work! Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha!!!" MetalTyrannomon turned away, and walked out from the village of Harmona with the DarkTyrannomons and Darkrizamons following him closely. He then stationed all the Chaos Forces digimons at every possible entrance into the village, wanting to stop the Digidestined before they enter the village. Little did he know that the Digidestined had the ability to teleport to anywhere they wanted.

Inside Harmona, the villagers were contemplating among themselves of what they had to do.

"What do we do now?" one Gotsumon asked the crowd.

"We have no choice, we must do what that MetalTyrannomon had said just now," one Fugamon replied. Fugamon was a fiery version of Ogremon, and this Fugamon came from deep within the vast forests of Harmona.

A Starmon and a Deputymon stepped forward to address the crowd.

"As the law officers of Harmona, we think that it is very unlawful for the Chaos Force to demand our valuable possessions to be handed to them. The two of us won't comply to his orders!" Starmon said angrily.

"Hear, hear," Deputymon said, and nodded.

"But didn't you two heard what he'd said? He will reduce our town to become like... like that statues!" a Guardromon protested, and gestured towads the destroyed statues of Seraphimon, Gryphonmon and Zanbamon.

"Wait!!" a small, yet strong voice interrupted. It came from behind the crowds, and this caused all of them to turn around. To their amazement, it was ToyAgumon. Accompanying him were two teenage boys they didn't recognize, and a Patamon and a Veemon.

"ToyAgumon!" Starmon rushed through the crowds to meet the Rookie. "You're back! And.. who are they?" he asked, pointing towards the boys. "They are not from Harmona, aren't they?"

ToyAgumon nodded. "Everyone, they are the Digidestined! Davis and T.K., and their partners Veemon and Patamon." Davis and T.K. nodded slightly.

Fugamon scowled slightly. "ToyAgumon, how could you bring them here? The Chaos Forces will enslave us now for sure, when they find out that we have the Digidestined here!"

"It seems to me, that you're already slaves," Davis replied. "As long as you bow to them, you will never be free."

"Davis and T.K. are here to help us stand up to the Chaos Forces, so they will never bother us again!" ToyAgumon said.

"I.. I'm sorry, Digidestined for my behavior just now," Fugamon said apologetically. "But we're no match for the Chaos Forces. We're not fighters like your digimons are."

"We will lead you. After this battle I promise they will be away for good," Davis said encouragingly.

"It won't be any good. There will be more of them coming to take over this town even if we managed to drive them away today," Guardromon said.

"And you will be ready to drive them all away back to," T.K. replied. "We promise."

"They are right, fellows! We can beat them if we all join together!" Starmon said with high spirits.

"It's no use. We're no match for those bullies," Fugamon said sadly, and there were loud murmurs of agreement from the crowds.

"You're just frightened," Deputymon muttered.

"Yes we are, but I guess for our sake that's the way we have to live," Fugamon countered gloomily, and departed from the crowd. Almost all of them followed him, returning back to their respective places, leaving only the Digidestined, Veemon, Patamon, ToyAgumon, Starmon, Deputymon and three Minomons. The Minomons were the ones who were kicked around by a Darkrizamon earlier.

"Now you three are brave little ones," Davis said towards them, beaming.

"We're tired of being bullied around. If we can be of any help, we will help you guys!" One Minomon replied determinedly and the other two cheered in agreement.

"You know, soon you'll grow up to become a strong Champion digimon," Davis said with a smile. "A close friend of mine has one of you as his partner digimon, but his digimon usually stays in his Rookie form of Wormmon."

"Really? We never get to digivolve to our Rookie form yet," Minomon I said excitedly. "So our Rookie form's gonna be a Wormmon."

"Can we know what is our Champion form?" Minomon II asked eagerly.

"And Ultimate, and..and.. and Mega!" Minomon III chirped exuberantly, hovering up and down in his excitement.

Davis and T.K. smiled, seeing their eagerness.

"It's your call, Davis," T.K. said, grinning.

"Well," Davis said. "You get to digivolve to Stingmon when you are strong enough, Stingmon is your Champion form. He's an insect-warrior digimon, and he's one tough guy you don't want to mess up with. We don't really know what is Stingmon's natural Ultimate and Mega forms yet...."

"Awwwwww...." the Minomons whined, slightly disappointed that they didn't realize they were interrupting Davis's explaination.

"... but, you see, my buddy's Stingmon can DNA-Digivolve with Veemon, that is when he is ExVeemon, to become an Ultimate digimon called Paildramon. Paildramon has both Stingmon and ExVeemon's characteristics, which could mean that Paildramon is neither ExVeemon or Stingmon's natural Ultimate level. Who knows, maybe soon we'll find out. Anyway, Paildramon then can Mega-Digivolve to Imperialdramon, who is one of the most powerful Mega dragon digimon around. And when the gongs get tough, Imperialdramon can transform into his Fighter Mode. Whenever that happen, then the tough gets going!"

"Awesome!" All three Minomons said together.

"But I think it's best if you three don't take part in this battle just yet, you're not strong enough to take on the Chaos Forces," T.K. said with a slight frown. "Yet," he added as an afterthought, when he saw the Minomons scowling at him.

"Aww... can we help in some other way then?" Minomon I asked hopefully.

"Well, you can try convincing the other digimons to stand up and fight the Chaos Force to free their own town," Davis suggested. "ToyAgumon, Starmon, Deputymon, the three of you will do the same. We can win this if we all join together."

"Sure thing," Starmon and Deputymon said with a salute before looking at ToyAgumon. "C'mon, ToyAgumon, let's get these Minomons to safety."

"But I want to stay with you, I can help!" ToyAgumon protested.

"No, the four of us will stand on our own. Your job is to prove to the others that the Chaos Forces can be beaten!" Davis insisted sternly.

* * *

About a couple of hours later, MetalTyrannomon and the three DarkTyrannomons and two Darkrizamons came back to Harmona to inspect whether the villagers of Harmona had carried out his order. They entered the town square, and were awed to see that a huge pile of chest boxes, some silver and gold coins and various types of precious stones, piled in front of the destroyed statues of Seraphimon, Gryphonmon and Zanbamon. The three elders were watching them intently, and silently, from inside of their dome imprisonment. 

"Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha!" MetalTyrannomon roared with laugher. "It is amazing, how easy it is to take advantage of those who are frightened."

"What's the matter? Doesn't Chaos Specter pay you enough, MetalTyrannomon?" came a smug voice from behind the pile of treasure. Davis and Veemon suddenly appeared from the behind of the pile of treasures, surprising MetalTyrannomon, the Darkrizamons and the DarkTyrannomons.

"A Digidestined? Hah! Not even you, have enough power to battle all of us!" MetalTyrannomon said, recovering from his sudden surprise.

Davis folded his arms across his chest and frowned. "What makes you think we're alone?"

MetalTyrannomon laughed heartily. "These cowards won't lift a finger to help you. You are alone!"

"Well then that's a big challenge, and both of us love a challenge!!" Davis declared and flexed his right hand, attempting to call on the power of the Diginizer of Courage. "Ready, Veemon! Diginizer Energize!"

**"Veemon, Digivolve to... ExVeemon!"**

"One mythical dragon digimon against five dark Champion digimons," MetalTyrannomon said almost lazily. "This is almost too easy. Charge!!" he commanded the five Chaos Forces to attack ExVeemon.

ExVeemon braced himself as the DarkTyrannomons and the Darkrizamons ran towards him to attack. Spreading his white wings wide, ExVeemon then raised slowly on the air, his feet now barely reached the ground. As a DarkTyrannomon (DarkTyrannomon I) was approaching, ExVeemon saw his chance and hurled a powerful punch towards it directly on its chin. Then, ExVeemon lashed his tail on the dark dinosaur digimon and kicked it away from him.

"One down, four to go," he muttered quietly, focusing his attention towards a Darkrizamon (Darkrizamon I) now.

Seeing that ExVeemon had easily subdued DarkTyrannomon I, the others knew immediately not to underestimate the azure dragon digimon. Darkrizamon I then decided to attack ExVeemon from a far, thinking that it would be safer.

"Dread Fire!!" Darkrizamon I roared, and unleashed a ray of burning black-orange flames towards ExVeemon, who was airborne. ExVeemon however evaded the attack easily by doing a back-flip on the air. Not wanting to waste anymore time, ExVeemon energized the X mark on his white chest, and the mark glowed with blue lights.

"Vee Laser!!" ExVeemon summoned, sending an X-shaped energy beam towards Darkrizamon I. The attack hit its legs and Darkrizamon I slumped on the grounds, immobilized.

From within the forest nearby the town square, nearly all the villagers of Harmona were watching the battle unnoticed by the Chaos Forces.

"That ExVeemon is making a fool out of those Chaos Forces," Fugamon said in awe, as ExVeemon subdued another DarkTyrannomon by kicking it's head from mid-air. "He's wonderful!"

The others whispered excitedly as they watched the outcome of the battle, in which ExVeemon was currently winning.

ToyAgumon glared at Fugamon and the other villagers. "Yes he is, a lot better than any of us are. We should be ashamed of ourselves. He's fighting _our_ battle. Maybe no one else is going to help them, but I am." ToyAgumon stomped off from the crowds, heading towards the town center, determined to help out although he was quite unsure of what to do.

MetalTyrannomon was agitated, he never expected that the 'one mythical dragon digimon' could defeat three Champion digimons single-handedly. He realized that ExVeemon was more powerful than any other Champion digimon. Heck, all the partner digimons of the Digidestined were more powerful than the wild or unpartnered ones. No wonder this ExVeemon had been able to defeat the two Tankmons so easily. Quickly he energized his two claws, forming an orange energy ball in each claw before a deep masculine voice interrupted him from behind.

"Is this a private party, or can I join you?"

MetalTyrannomon spun around, and met face to face with MagnaAngemon!


	17. The Forbidden Skill

**DISCLAIMER: **I don't own Digimon Adventures, Digimon 02, Digimon World 2 and 3.

**Note:** This chapter introduces the "forbidden skill" (hence the title chapter), and two versions of the Digimon Analyzers.

**Gerjo --** I'm glad that you like MetalTyrannomon's story... I have fun writing about him. I can say that he's going to be a sub-major character for a few chapters more. Thanks for reviewing my fic again, I hope you will enjoy this chapter.

**Psychorabbit** -- Thanks for reviewing again and for the pointer, I really appreciate that. The sub-plots are done mainly to establish a few characters, but I didn't realize that it can be a little deviating. I'll try to work on that in future.

* * *

****

**VENGEANCE   
  
- Chapter 16 - The Forbidden Skill -  
  
by **

**Alforce Zero**

****

"Is this a private party, or can I join you?"

MetalTyrannomon spun around and met face to face with MagnaAngemon, the archangel digimon of Hope. His face contorted slightly in a mixed expression of fear and hate. Fear, because MagnaAngemon was one of the most powerful Ultimate digimon to date. MetalTyrannomon was not sure whether he was even a challenge to this angel, as he had digivolved only recently and he did not know the powers of the MagnaAngemon he was facing. His hatred was derived solely to the fact that MagnaAngemon was one of the perfect embodiment of goodness of digimons, and also not to mention that MetalTyrannomon was surprised by the angel's silent entry.

MagnaAngemon silently recalled the functions of the Digimon Analyzer, hoping that it could provide him with the status of the digimon he was facing. He was not so sure whether he could even do that, as usually the Digimon Analyzer required the third button of any Diginizer to be pressed before it could display any information about the digimon. However, the sound of soft electronical buzzing assured him that he would be able to analyze MetalTyrannomon perfectly. Suddenly, his vision through the transparent purple mask he was wearing was obscured with a digitized colored picture of a MetalTyrannomon and the list of its profile on the left of the picture, printed in gold digital-like letters on black background. MagnaAngemon was going to read the profile himself when suddenly the voice of a man, which sounded like Gennai, recited the information for him.

> **----------------- DIGIMON ANALYZER ------------------**
> 
> **Name :** MetalTyrannomon  
**Attribute :** Virus  
**Level :** Ultimate  
**Type : **Cyborg  
**Specialty : **Machine  
  
**Attacks :** Giga Destroyer II, Nuclear Laser   
**Power Level :** 72
> 
> MetalTyrannomon is a possible digivolutionary line for either Tyrannomon or DarkTyrannomon, the latter being the more common pre-digivolved form. This cyborg digimon can shoot an intensified version of the Giga Destroyer attack from both of its claws.   
  
**------------------------------------------------------------------------**

"Is it just me, or did Gennai had added more information on the analyzer?" MagnaAngemon muttered silently with a slight smirk on his face. "An interesting hobby of his though, the analyzer is even more informative than before."

_"While we're at it, T.K., why don't you analyze us?"_ suddenly the soft voice of Patamon inquired from the back of MagnaAngemon's head.

'Not a bad idea,' MagnaAngemon replied mentally, remembering that only he was able to hear Patamon's voice.

> ** ----------------- DIGIMON ANALYZER ------------------**
> 
> **Name :** MagnaAngemon  
**Attribute :** Vaccine  
**Level :** Ultimate  
**Type :** Archangel  
**Specialty :** Holy  
  
**Attacks :** Gate of Destiny, Excalibur, Soul Banish, Hand of Fate, Angel Rod  
**Power Level :** 78
> 
> This archangel digimon possesses the ability to banish its opponent to another dimension by opening a gateway with his holy sword. A high-ranking angel digimon, MagnaAngemon preserves the order of the Digital World with his intellect and holy powers combined.
> 
> A Trans Digivolved MagnaAngemon, resulting from the fusion of the Digidestined of Hope and his partner digimon Patamon, is able to recall the attacks of its pre-digivolutionary forms at will. This is yet another recently-discovered fact as Transdigivolution is newly introduced.
> 
> **-------------------------------------------------------------**
> 
> ****

_'Cool!'_ Patamon squeeled excitedly. _'This will definitely give us an edge for battling other digimons!'_

'Way cool,' MagnaAngemon agreed. 'I've always wanted to try out the Hand of Fate attack! And Patamon, what's Soul Banish?'

'I have no idea myself, T.K. I've never use it before... you know just how few times MagnaAngemon made his appearance?'

'Well I guess we have to test it out to find out.'

MetalTyrannomon decided to take the offensive after seeing that MagnaAngemon was somehow preoccupied with something, and quickly energized both of his claws. Strange orange spheres began to form within the claws, and after a while the spheres elongated to take on a cyllindrical-like shape. The cyllinders began to solidify and became two missiles. MetalTyrannomon was going to attack with his deadliest attack, the Giga Destroyer II! This attack was strong and was able to blow up a small city with one blow.

"Giga Destroyer II!!" he roared, and blasted the missiles towards MagnaAngemon.

'T.K. look-out!'

The whole time, MagnaAngemon never took his gaze away from MetalTyrannomon even when he was analyzing the profiles from the Digimon Analyzer. Thus, he saw the incoming attack clearly and knew just the way to counter it. Raising the glimmering violet energy blade on his right hand, MagnaAngemon charged towards the incoming attack and slashed the blade towards the two missiles. The impact from the counter attack caused an explosion, which destroyed the missiles. MagnaAngemon's blade however remained the same.

"What the --? How is that possible?!" MetalTyrannomon demanded, as MagnaAngemon descended slowly until he reached the ground.

"In my world, Excalibur is known as the strongest sword ever made in history," MagnaAngemon replied with a grin.

_'__Indestructable sounds more like it,'_ Patamon chided.

MetalTyrannomon was perplexed after hearing the reply. No, it was not the fact that the angel's blade was unbeatable. He was merely surprised that MagnaAngemon mentioned that it was the strongest sword in _his_ world. Not to mention, this MagnaAngemon was acting a little bit differently from what he had thought every MagnaAngemon should be. He never had imagined a MagnaAngemon who would even crack a smile, as the archangel was known to be a serious, no-nonsense digimon.

"What do you mean, your world?" MetalTyrannomon eyed his opponent sceptically. "Aren't you from the Digital World as well?"

"Did I forget to mention that I am actually a Trans Digivolved MagnaAngemon?"

"Trans..what in the blazes is that?"

"To put it bluntly, a hybrid MagnaAngemon resulted from a fusion of a Digidestined and his partner digimon!"

"Hybrid?!"

"Enough talking. Time for me to teach you a lesson for invading this town, MetalTyrannomon!" MagnaAngemon raised his right arm and pulled it slightly towards the back. As the violet blade entered its chamber, his knuckle glowed with heavenly white and gold lights. MagnaAngemon felt a surge of energy focussed on his knuckle, energizing it with pure energy. 'Time to test out Angemon's attack,'he said mentally.

"Hand of Fate!!" he summoned, and released a massive jet of gold-white energy beam full of holy energy towards MetalTyrannomon, and successfully hit the cyborg dinosaur's chest who was not anticipating the attack. As the attack was launched at close proximity, the force of it caused MetalTyrannomon to lose his balance and he fell onto the grounds. Fortunately his metallic armor, engrafted on his whole body, had protected him from being hurt. A scorch mark from MagnaAngemon attack was however visible on his chest, which angered him greatly that he forgot about his earlier slight fear of the angel digimon. Grunting slightly, MetalTyrannomon got up instantly and settled back on his feet again.

"You'll pay for that, you angel brat!" he seethed in rage and advanced towards MagnaAngemon.

The angel saw the danger of being knocked out by the bigger cyborg, and instantly leapt out of the way. Being smaller, MagnaAngemon had the advantage in terms of agility, he could easily evade himself from being hit or lashed by the clumsier MetalTyrannomon.

"You have to do better than that if you wanna beat me!" MagnaAngemon declared while hovering on air.

"Gah! I'll show you!" MetalTyrannomon retaliated and thrusted his right claw on air. "Nuclear Laser!" The attack was swift, but contain less amount of energy as it was done in haste and out of anger.

MagnaAngemon shielded himself easily with the violet shield on his left hand.

"Alas, all good things must come to an end, MetalTyrannomon. Personally, I regret ending the battle myself as I haven't test out a couple of my attacks yet. But..." The energy blade Excalibur materialized instantly from the bracelet he wore on his right hand. Next, he raised his right hand towards the sky, and then made a circular motion in front of him. Streaks of gold band of energy trailed the blade's movements, and a gateway to the other dimension appeared.

Meanwhile, ExVeemon had his hands full battling the remaining one Darkrizamon and one DarkTyrannomon. Apparently, after seeing their comrades failed miserably to even cause as much as a scratch on ExVeemon, the two dark digimons became more careful, and planned their attacks carefully. Thus, ExVeemon spent longer time fighting them off. Not that he minded, ExVeemon always enjoyed a good challenge.

Davis was standing somewhere near the imprisoned elders of Harmona and the destroyed statues. He however was fully engrossed with the battle, completely forgetting about the elders. As the elders were watching the battle as well, did not bother to call out for Davis to help them as they knew there was nothing Davis could do to free them.

"Go on, ExVeemon! Show them what you're made of!" Davis cried in high spirits, shaking his right fist on mid-air. Suddenly, something small and colorful coming his way attracted his attention. It was ToyAgumon, and behind him were the three Minomons. "Oh man, what are they thinking?" Davis groaned, and ran over to fetch them. When he reached up to them, he was about to scold the four little digimons for endangering their own lives when two DarkTyrannomons (DarkTyrannomon I and II) and one Darkrizamon (Darkrizamon I) suddenly surrounded them. Those dark digimons were the ones who ExVeemon had so easily defeated earlier.

"It looks like this is your final destination, children," Darkrizamon I said menacingly. Davis noted that he was slumping, his right leg seemed to be having a cut. From the black fires erupting from his lower limb, trails of colorless liquid seemed to be flowing out from the cut. Davis realized that this must be the Darkrizamon whom his partner had attacked earlier with his laser.

"Your partner might be strong, boy," DarkTyrannomon I added, baring his yellowed teeth dangerously towards Davis, who was not intimidated at all. "But he is too preoccupied to save all of you."

Before Davis could reply, Minomon I shot back. "You're nothing but a bunch of big bullies. Cowards! You're picking somebody weaker than you! Why if I have enough power to defeat you, I.. I'll kick your mouth so hard you won't even be able to talk!"

"Yeah, yeah! Cowards!" Minomons II and III chanted.

DarkTyrannomon I was perplexed, but Darkrizamon I slinked his way nearer towards the three In trainings.

"Such brave words coming from three weaklings like you. Why, you three even look familiar. Now where did I meet you," Darkrizamon I said in mock wonder while staring into the eyes of the three Minomons. "Ah yes... you are those Minomons that entertained me a few days ago. What do you say if we have some fun again. My legs are surely itching to kick the three of you again."

Davis immediately saw the danger coming towards the Minomons. He quickly jumped into Darkrizamon I's way as he advanced towards the three Minomons. Strangely enough, so did ToyAgumon, and about the same time too.

"Don't you dare hurt them, you evil digimon!" Davis warned them angrily.

"Look who has decided to become a hero," Darkrizamon I taunted.

"Toy Flame!!" ToyAgumon shouted, and a red toy miniature of a flame appeared in front of the toy, shooting itself towards Darkrizamon I. The Champion digimon however swatted the attack away as easily as getting rid of a fly.

"Surely you don't think such attack could harm me?" Darkrizamon I said, and slapped ToyAgumon away. The toy digimon landed on his head onto the metallic ground with a loud thud. Davis saw that ToyAgumon stirred slightly, but he did not get up.

"You big bully!" Davis immediately tackled Darkrizamon I, and landed a punch onto his torso. The digimon was caught off guard, but Davis's knuckle was scorched by the black flames flaring on the dark digimon's body. Angered and humiliated at the same time, Darkrizamon I kicked Davis angrily, causing the boy to fall onto the ground. It was a blow too hard on Davis's stomach, and he had to clutch his stomach in order to ease the pain.

ExVeemon was extremely angered when he saw what was happening to Davis. He soared instantly into the mid-air, forgetting completely about his two opponents while rushing to his partner's side.

"No one strikes a blow onto my partner and gets away with it!" ExVeemon hollered madly. "Vee..."

"Dread Fire!!"

"Fire Blast!!"

Suddenly without any warnings, two attacks hit the enraged ExVeemon from behind. They came from DarkTyrannomon III and Darkrizamon II, whom ExVeemon had so completely abandoned. Not wanting to waste any valuable opportunity to take down the mythical dragon digimon, the two dark digimons combined their signature attacks to deliver a powerful blow towards ExVeemon just as soon as he had his back on them.

ExVeemon yelled in pain after being hit with the attacks. He felt that his wings were burning, and his powers were slowly fading. His back was burnt from the two fire based attacks, and he could no longer maintained his Champion form. Back into his Rookie form, Veemon fell onto the metallic grounds, too weak to move. He attempted to crawl his way towards Davis, not willing to give up. However, his attempt was stopped when DarkTyrannomon III landed his left feet onto Veemon's back, and pressed him firmly onto the ground.

"Da..vis..."

Davis had never felt so helpless in his life before. Wiping a trickle of blood on his mouth, Davis tried to stand up but by attempting to do so the pain on his stomach multiplied so greatly he had to sit back on the ground.

"Veemon!!"

MagnaAngemon fixed his gaze onto MetalTyrannomon just as the Gate of Destiny was about to be formed, when Davis's voice distracted him. Looking on his right, MagnaAngemon felt as if blood was being drained on his face. His friends were losing the battle, and he had to end his quickly to help Davis and Veemon. However, the distraction cost MagnaAngemon greatly as he saw two grey missiles launched towards him and an orange laser beam was in between of the two missiles.

"No!" MagnaAngemon tried to evade, but he was too late as MetalTyrannomon's combined attacks of Nuclear Laser and Giga Destroyer II had blasted him on close proximity. Out of his concern for his friends' safety, MagnaAngemon failed to hear MetalTyrannomon's calls of attacks. An explosion resulted from the collision between the attacks and his body, and the angel digimon felt his powers being drained away from him. Just as he was about to land on the grounds, his body glimmered with faint white light and separated back into T.K. and Patamon, who both seemed to be hurt. T.K. was coughing non-stop, his white shirt completely torn while his black tank-top and brown khaki pants had a few scorch marks all over. His face was soiled with dirt. Patamon was too weakened to fight, his wings ached and there were bruises on his body.

"Damnit, we were so close," T.K. muttered as he struggled to get up.

"Not so tough now, are you?" MetalTyrannomon said mockingly, and broke into a loud victorious laughter.

From the forests, the digimons of Harmona were watching helplessly as their only hope, their saviors, were soundly defeated by the Chaos Forces. They did not know what else to do. They had never thought that it would end like that.

"We can't let them fight our battle, and we can't live our lives in fear forever!" Starmon declared, trying to raise the spirits of the digimons to fight back the Chaos Forces.

"The Digidestined need our help, we must take actions now to save them. They fought our battle!" Deputymon added. "Just look at ToyAgumon and the Minomons. They are only a Rookie and three In Trainings! The majority of us, Champions and Armors, are forever in shame if we could not measure up to their bravery and patriotism!"

Fugamon raised his head, which was lowered shamefully when Deputymon was making his brief speech earlier.

"I'm going to help them!" he declared suddenly, and loudly. "Who's with me?"

Loud murmurs were heard among the digimons. Some of them were anxious to fight for the first time of their lives, some were agitated, a few were still scared while a number of them were ready to give their best shot.

Three Woodmons stepped forward from the large crowd of digimons. Following them from behind were a Veggiemon, a RedVeggiemon, a Kiwimon, a Floramon, a Fungusmon, a Palmon, and one other digimon whom looked exactly like Palmon, but she had a paler shade of green as the color of her skin, and the flower on her head was purple instead of fuchsia. This digimon was known as Alraumon.

"We nature digimons are ready to defend our forest and our home from those evil Chaos Forces!" one of the Woodmon declared.

"Glad to have you in the team, nature digimons!" Starmon beamed proudly.

Next, a Gomamon crawled towards Starmon, Deputymon and Fugamon.

"The marine digimons are ready, sirs!" Gomamon chirped exuberantly.

"That's very good news," Fugamon noted.

Two Golemons from the mountains subsequently followed suits. "We digimons of the mountains have agreed to fight alongside you."

Soon, all digimons shouted their agreement to fight. All of them were ready to drive the Chaos Forces out of their beloved town.

"With all these forces of goodness, we'll surely win this one," Starmon said with confidence.

"Today we'll win back Harmona!" Deputymon declared proudly, and raised both hands towards the sky. Everyone else applauded and roared with renewed spirits as they all started to march towards the town square, ready to chase the Chaos Forces out of their beloved town. No longer they were the cowardly ones whom the bad guys could bully whenever they wanted. Now, they were ready to do anything they could to free their town.

"So, little brats..." Darkrizamon I said menacingly as he advanced towards the three little Minomons, who were all hovering backwards slowly. "How would you like to have a little game before I end your pathetic lives?" The other Chaos Forces broke out with laughter as they watched Darkrizamon I cornered the three In-trainings towards a building. ToyAgumon tried to stop him by attempting to pull the dark lizard's leg, but upon contact with the dark flames on his body ToyAgumon cried in pain, his hands were badly scorched. Darkrizamon simply kicked ToyAgumon away before diverting his attentions back to the Minomons.

"Ss..stop! Don't hurt them!" Veemon cried out helplessly as he attempted to stand up. Unfortunately, his back was sore from the attacks he'd taken from the enemies, making him fall back onto the metallic ground. Davis had to help Veemon by supporting his weight on his body, but their height differences just made that impossible. So, Davis resorted to lifting Veemon up, and craddling him on his arms. Veemon scowled slightly, but he knew his partner meant well and did not protest. Silently though, he was grateful that Gatomon was not around.

Davis took Veemon near to the place where ToyAgumon was laying. He was still conscious, and did not suffer from any serious injury. Unless of course, if excluded his burnt hands.

"Can you still Digivolve or Armor Digivolve, Veemon?" Davis asked slowly. "Those Minomons won't stand a chance against that overgrown lizard. We must do something."

"I'm willing to try, Davis."

"OK, here goes! Diginizer Energize!" Nothing happened. Veemon was still, Veemon.

"Try Armor Digivolve," Veemon said.

"Digi-Armor Energize!" Still, nothing happened.

"I guess you're drained out of energy, Veemon," ToyAgumon sighed sadly.

Davis cast a look towards where MagnaAngemon and MetalTyrannomon were battling, hoping that MagnaAngemon had better luck than him. Instead he saw T.K. and Patamon, beaten and battered, trying to run away from MetalTyrannomon.

"What'll we do now, Davis?" Veemon asked, his voice sounded angry and sad at the same time.

Davis hung his head down and looked into his partner's large red-brown orbs. "I don't know, Veemon. I feel so helpless."

"Say goodbye now, kiddies!!" Darkrizamon roared, and raised his right hand towards the cowering Minomons. Crimson and black aura glowed from it, and the flames on his hand flared even bigger. "Dread..." His face contorted into a hideous smirk as he was about to finish calling his signature attack's name. "... Fire!!"

Davis, Veemon and ToyAgumon gasped in horror when the attack was blasted towards the three Minomons, who were all huddled together in fear for their lives. It happened in the blink of the eye, and the flames had even caught the building's wooden wall, burning it as well. Smokes filled the surroundings as they heard Darkrizamon cackled maniacally.

"You.. monster!!" Davis yelled in rage, and he felt a tear started to form in his eyes. "How could you!" he cried, wiping his eyes immediately using the short sleeve of his shirt. His heart sank, he didn't even heard the Minomons scream. Their lives ended instantly, and mercilessly in the hands of a Chaos Force.

In anger, Veemon had forgotten about his injuries and got up instantly, although he winced as the pains built up again on him. Hadn't it been for ToyAgumon, who rushed to help him Veemon would had toppled back onto the ground. However, Veemon was much too heavy for the smaller ToyAgumon, and both of them fell onto the grounds again.

Darkrizamon I turned back from the burning building, and walked back slowly towards Davis, Veemon and ToyAgumon.

"Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha!" He roared again into a laughter. A hideously sounded laughter which matched his evil personality.

Davis had to summon every self-control measures that he had known of to stop himself from flunging towards Darkrizamon I, suppressing the urge to deliver a kick onto the lizard digimon's face.

Darkrizamon I walked up towards Davis. "You're pathetic, Digidestined! See..."

He was cut off instantly, when out from the thick smokes, flashes of green and violet were seen. It started off as faint lights, and grew brighter every seconds. Amazingly, the lights had somehow tamed the raging flames, slowly extinguishing it in the process. As the smokes faded, a tall humanoid shadow was seen within the thin smokes.

"It can't be..." Davis said in disbelief, his eyes bulged as he took in the shadow. He recognized the shadow instantly.

Darkrizamon I was seething in anger. "There's no WAY they could..."

"Apparently, they did," ToyAgumon said flatly.

The tall shadow walked out from the smokes, revealing an insectoid human-like digimon adorned with deep green and black armor. He stood impressively at roughly nine feet tall, completely towering Darkrizamon I. As the digimon walked closer, Darkrizamon I found himself unwittingly taking several steps backward.

"Stingmon!" Davis breathed in awe.

The digimon, Stingmon, glanced at Davis and nodded in acknowledgement.

"How could it be?"

Stingmon stopped walking, and turned to see Davis while keeping an eye towards Darkrizamon I.

"I.. I guess the three of us are Stingmon now," Stingmon said hesitantly.

"But how? You've completely bypassed your Rookie levels. I don't know that that is even possible." Davis decided to check on his Digimon Analyzer for explaination.

> ** ----------------- DIGIMON ANALYZER ------------------**
> 
> **Name :** Stingmon  
**Attribute :** Virus  
**Level :** Champion  
**Type :** Insect  
**Specialty :** Fly  
  
**Attacks :** Spiking Strike, Insect Antenna, Moon Shooter  
**Power Level :** 62
> 
> Champion of the insect digimons, Stingmon is known to be fearless and dangerous. Be aware of his Moon Shooter, as it would paralyze the enemy completely by using needles coated with one of the deadliest venom in the Digital World.
> 
> **-------------------------------------------------------------**
> 
> ****

Davis realized that the Digimon Analyzer was once again, had been improved by Gennai but decided that the moment was not suitable for him to make any snide comments. Instead, he looked in awe towards Stingmon.

"You really look awesome, Stingmon," Davis commented with a smile. Veemon and ToyAgumon stood by his side and admired Stingmon's now form. They found that it was really hard to believe that the three Minomons they had come to known earlier were now fused as one, as Stingmon. No longer sounded childish, Stingmon sounded a lot more mature and confident, but one thing he had in common with his former three selves was that they had the same streak of bravery and determination.

"Thank you," Stingmon replied with a slight nod.

"The Minomons' determination must had triggered their digivolution straight to Champion form," Veemon reasoned with himself, not realizing that he had said it out loud.

"Not necessarily," ToyAgumon said thoughtfully, causing Veemon to start slightly. "It is extremely rare for digimons to skip a level while digivolving, and it is completely unheard of for_ three_ digimons to merge as one... permanently, and bypassed one digivolutionary level."

Davis nodded. "Sounds like Stingmon here has broken all the odds."

"I am ready to defend my home town, and the first thing I want to do is to get rid these slimy, good-for-nothing pests out from Harmona!" Stingmon declared, and advanced towards the now-cowering-in-fear Darkrizamon I. The dark lizard knew that he was not a match for Stingmon. He looked pleadingly at the other friends, but suddenly a loud roar of noise was heard coming from the forests.

Digimons, of various types, shapes and sizes were seen running like mad towards the town square. On the sky, several airborne digimons were seen swooping down from the sky. Out from the river flowing near the square, marine digimons jumped out and joined their land friends. In a matter of a minute, the town square was surrounded by the digimons of Harmona.

"Finally..." ToyAgumon said softly yet happily, tears welling up in his eyes. "They are going to fight back!"

"For Harmona!!" Starmon and Deputymon roared together, and their cry was chorused by all the digimons around the town square.

"We've had enough!" Guardromon stepped out from the crowd.

"Yeah! No longer you can push us around!" Fugamon followed suit.

T.K. and Patamon were amazed to see that the whole villagers of Harmona had finally decided to retaliate. From the crowd, they saw a winged zebra-like digimon soared into the sky, and swooped down towards them. The digimon landed impressively beside T.K. and Patamon.

"Quickly Digidestined, on my back," the winged zebra instructed, the deep and slightly hoarse voice being a dead giveaway that the digimon was a male. He looked like a Unimon, only the stripes on his body made him different from the former.

T.K. held Patamon in one hand, and the digimon kneeled lower to make it easier for T.K. to climb onto him.

"Who are you?" T.K. asked just as he had securely placed himself and Patamon on the digimon's sturdy back.

The digimon glanced its masked head towards them. "I'm ShimaUnimon. Hold on to my body firmly, we're going to take off now. The two of you are in no condition to fight anymore, and I'm in charge to ensure of your safety. You'll be perfectly safe on air."

T.K. grinned nervously. "Whatever you say, ShimaUnimon. And thanks."

"My pleasure."

**

* * *

**

As the battle on Harmona escalated, the interdimensional Digital World conqueror Chaos Specter had a plan of his own. While awaiting the return of Chaos WarGreymon with the Zeed Crystal to complete his experimentation of the prophecy onto the captive DemiDevimon, he decided to train his pet feline digimon, the BlackGatomon whom he fondly named as Catrina. He had chosen the Protocol Jungle, located somewhere behind the mountains that lined the path between the central and south quadrants of the East Sector.

Protocol Jungle had a reputation to be the sanctuary of hostile digimons, and digimons around did not dare to even step a mile from the mountains which hid the jungle. Several airborne digimons however managed to get a glimpse on how the Protocol Jungle looked like from air without having to worry for their safety. Strange purple mists covered the jungle from above, depriving the jungle of the lights. The trees there were unnaturally big and had thick canopies. In the middle of the jungle was a stone clearing with a black tower on the middle. The clearing led to a stone-like building which looked like those of Aztec civilations dated centuries back. The building looked as if it was deserted for a long time, and was aptly named the Protocol Ruins.

"Are you ready now, Catrina?" Chaos Specter asked his feline companion, who was walking cautiously behind him.

Catrina looked up, her determination was evident by her glowing yellow eyes.

"As ready as I'll ever be," she replied with confident.

"Do you think you are able to defeat up to three or four Champion digimons without digivolving further?"

"I.. I think so. It depends on the opponents I'm about to face, why?"

"Well, the trainings I put those Chaos Generals through during their early years were like that. As the result they progressed even quicker than I had ever imagined. But I do not want to force you to undergo such regiment. We will see how much you have progressed with your trainings, should you ever feel need to digivolve do not hesitate to do so, understand?" Chaos Specter asked sternly.

The small black feline digimon nodded thoughtfully. "Yes."

"Tell me, are you now able to control your digivolution?"

"I've mastered my Ultimate level but I'll need more time to sharpen my skills on that."

Chaos Specter's mouth broke into a slight smile as his brilliant green eyes caught on some movements within the darkness of the jungles. Three pairs of red eyes were glowing in the dark.

"Catrina, here is your chance. Rest assured that I will not interfere with your battle unless I think it is necessary."

"Got it." Catrina looked wryly towards the three digimons who had walked out from the darkness. One of them resembled a minotaur of the legends, the second digimon was a white and grey gorilla with a cannon as its right hand and the third one was a somewhat bizzare creature. In some ways it looked like a Halsemon, but had red reptillian skin with yellow stripes and green hair was seen growing on its back. It however had an almost identical silver head armor which was worn by a Halsemon.

Chaos Specter stood at a nearby tree not far from where his pet digimon was facing the three digimons. An energy-based green visor suddenly appeared in front of his eyes after a soft short command muttered by the young man. Chaos Specter directed his attention towards each of the three digimons that Catrina was facing.

**_----------DIGIMON ANALYZER-----------  
Minotarumon, Champion level digimon of Virus type. His attacks are Darkside Quake and Demon Arm._**

**_---------DIGIMON ANALYZER------------  
Gorillamon, Champion level digimon of Data type. Its attacks are Power Attack and Energy Cannon._**

**_---------DIGIMON ANALYZER------------  
Sethmon, Armor level digimon of Vaccine type. Its attacks are Heat Storm and Power Driver._**

"Catrina, you have the chance to test out your skills against all three Virus, Data and Vaccine type digimons. Use this opportunity well, and do not be afraid as they are in equivalent levels as you."

"Afraid? Of them? You must be joking..." Catrina said dryly as she assessed her partners.

The three digimons whom had cornered Catrina stared at both intruders with their glowing red eyes. They however did not say anything apart from growling endlessly. However it was evident that Chaos Specter and Catrina's arrivals were not welcomed from their expressions. Finally one of them spoke up.

"Intruders! What business do you have here!" Sethmon growled fiercely, and flames began to erupt from his body. Minotarumon and Gorillamon both took a battle stance and waited for the order.

Catrina laughed a little and stared intently towards the Armor digimon.

"My master seems to think that this is an ideal training ground for me," she said with a smirk. "Apparently, he's right. You three boys here will do just fine as my new scratching posts!"

"How dare you!" Sethmon glowered angrily towards Catrina, taking offence of what she had just said earlier. "Leave now, or we'll be forced to attack you!"

"All three of you together? My, for shame boys! Three of you bullying a little girl-mon such as me? Why don't we take it on one-on-one, I dare you!"

The three digimons looked at each other confusedly.

"If you don't leave now with that human, then we'll have no choice."

"Well then. Which one of you boys are gonna be first?"

Gorillamon stepped forward, nodding towards Sethmon indicating that he was volunteering. Sethmon nodded, it gave him the chance to assess the BlackGatomon's strength.

"If it isn't the gorilla. You're a data type aren't you?" Catrina asked Gorillamon nonchalantly. "Don't you know that I have an edge in fighting Data types such as you?"

Gorillamon snorted as he powered up his cannons. "We'll just have to see about that, won't we? Energy Cannon!!" he bellowed, and pointed the cannon towards Catrina. White-yellow energy wave blasted towards Catrina, whom had no choice but to jump out a way as she did not have any counter attack to use against Gorillamon. Quick-witted in nature, Catrina immediately made a mental list of her opponent's weak and strong points. Knowing that while large, Gorillamon was not the brightest or the fastest of digimons. She could use that to her advantage. However Catrina had one slight disadvantage, both her signature attacks were close-ranged attacks meaning that she would have to get closer to Gorillamon in order to strike. It was risky, but Catrina decided to go for it and darted her way towards Gorillamon with great stealth and speed that she reached her opponent within a couple of seconds. Jumping to Gorillamon's eye level, she lashed out her purple-gloved claws.

"Lightning Claw!!" she yelled, and left three scratch marks on his head. Gorillamon howled in pain and retreated instantly.

Minotarumon was next, he darted towards Catrina just as the feline was about to land on the ground. Before she could do anything, Minotarumon knocked her head hard with his metallic fist. Catrina was angered and hissed out of rage.

"All the hissing won't get you anywhere, little pussycat! Now, feel my Darkside Quake!" Minotarumon stomped his metallic fist on the grounds and immediately the grounds cracked from the place where the bull-man digimon had hit towards where Catrina was standing. She made a graceful back-flip to avoid herself from being trapped inside the crack.

"Nice move, bull face," she commented while rubbing her head where Minotarumon had hit him earlier. "But I'm just getting started."

"You've got guts, BlackGatomon," Minotarumon said and took a fighting stance.

Catrina now realised that her chance of fighting the three digimons were not on her favor while she remained at her Champion level. She was only able to attack Gorillamon due to perfect timing. Defeating Minotarumon would be hard as he seemed to know of her weakness and never stood close to her for a long time. Sethmon was perhaps her toughest opponent, him being a Vaccine meaning that he had the advantage over her as she was a Virus type.

She closed her eyes and her long purple-striped tail wriggled slightly. A glittering silver Tail ring was present on her tail. It had the Digital World alphabets engraved on it, which made it looked just the same as the gold Tail ring possessed by Kari's Gatomon. Catrina felt a wave of energy surged inside of her body as the silver ring began to glow bright red. Waves of soft orange aura enveloped her body. Her whole body emitted shimmering silver and orange lights as she grew slowly into a figure of a slim woman.

"BlackGatomon Digivolve to..."

Long hairs grew from her head and two long tails emerged from the woman's figure. Her hands grew longer and ended in large shining crimson claws. Two cat-like ears materialized from her head, and yellow puffed trousers with leopard designs and a red leotard formed around her legs and torso. Her hands, legs and tails suddenly jingled as gold bracelets formed. Each of her tail received two bracelets, while each leg got one bracelet and four bracelets for each hand. Even her long, crimson nails had gold rings attached on them. The woman's face was exotic, with green eyes and full lips red as rose. Her hair was red too, long and braided along the end. The transformation sequence was completed when her arms, legs and tails were revealed to be dark brown with patterns similar to a leopard's and a gold tiara formed around her head. Lastly, a purple transparent veil attached itself to the lower ends of Catrina's ears, covering her mouth and she struck a sultry pose.

"Bastemon!"

Chaos Specter was slightly awed by the transformation, as he had never seen Catrina digivolved before.

**_----------DIGIMON ANALYZER-----------_  
_Bastemon, Ultimate level digimon of Virus type. Her attacks are Vampire Dance and Helter Skelter, which has the ability to de-digivolve other digimons against their will!_**

Catrina (as Bastemon) was ecstatic after digivolving, while Gorillamon, Minotarumon and Sethmon stared at her disbelievingly. Realizing that she had digivolved to an Ultimate level digimon they decided to attack her together, hoping that it would defeat her. They surrounded her closely, but Catrina just smirked as if was bored of the whole process.

"My, you boys are forward... oh all right. One dance, and that's it!" she remarked with a playful yet seductive smile. "Vampire Dance!!" She spinned herself slowly, but gradually gaining her speed until she began to glow with orange aura. Three orange bats materialized from the aura and surrounded her opponents around their heads. Suddenly the three digimons looked at Catrina blankly after the bats entered their minds.

"Lesson number one, never mess with me or I'll confuse you with my Vampire Dance attack."

Bastemon then proceeded by performing yet another dance steps, this time it started slow but became gradually quicker and faster. Her legs glowed with orange aura instead of her whole body. She grinned sinisterly as she approached the digimons one by one, kicking them hard towards the chest and sent them all flying away. On the air, the three digimons glowed and became smaller.

"And lesson number two, be careful of my Helter Skelter attack as it can..." she paused as the three formerly Champion and Armor digimosn had regressed back into their Rookie stages of three identical Tsukaimons. "... de-digivolve you."

The Tsukaimons were shocked to find themselves back in their Rookie forms, and scurried away back into the forests. Catrina attempted to chase after them, but Chaos Specter stopped her .

"Catrina, I think that is enough for one day. Let us head to the Protocol Ruins now, shall we? I think you will find more opponents there while I have to look for the master of the Protocol Ruins," Chaos Specter said calmly as he walked towards Catrina. He looked around the jungle for a while and nodded slowly.

"What do you have in mind?" Catrina asked while she de-digivolved back to her BlackGatomon form.

"Now that I think of it, this place is perfect for me to complete my experiment on that DemiDevimon."

**

* * *

**

DarkTyrannomon III found himself to be surrounded by nature type digimons, led by the three Woodmons. They inititated the attack before the dark tyrannosaurus digimon could even defend himself, using their signature attacks to instantly drain his power. One Woodmon was deadly enough, but with three of them absorbing his powers DarkTyrannomon III's chance of winning was bleak. He however, was a strong Champion as all members of the Chaos Forces had their powers enhanced by Chaos Specter. He struggled hard to ram the Woodmons away to break free, but Palmon and Alraumon both restrained his feet using their Poison Ivy and Nemesis Ivy attacks respectively, while Floramon launched her Rain of Pollen technique to obscure his vision. Fungusmon soon followed by throwing poisonous mushrooms towards his eye, where Floramon's attack had hit him earlier. All of them then combined their attacks together to deliver one final blow towards the enemy, and used their all to do that. Being hit point blanc, DarkTyrannomon III was the first to fall as he combusted into data particles after receiving the attacks.

The marine and air digimons joined forces to corner Darkrizamon II to a nearby river, where Seadramon and Depthmon, an Armor digimon of the deep, were waiting. Airdramon began the attack by summoning his God Typhoon attack which threw the dark lizard into the river. As a flame type, Darkrizamon II's weakness was of course, water. The dark flames on his body were immediately extinguished, and Seadramon took the opportunity to freeze Darkrizamon II, giving Depthmon a perfect chance to strike a fatal blow to the lizard. Thus, another Chaos Force was gone.

Stingmon, newly digivolved from the three Minomons, demanded to settle the score with Darkrizamon I himself. Starmon and Deputymon thus diverted their attentions towards DarkTyrannomons I and II. Veemon, still weakened from his previous battle, stayed close to Davis and ToyAgumon, with Fugamon and Guardromon guarding them. ShimaUnimon, with T.K. and Patamon, hovered above them. Several digimons approached the battlezone carefully, wanting to help out Starmon and Deputymon who had their hands full trying to keep the DarkTyrannomons at bay. Fugamon joined the battle scene, leaving a few Rookie digimons and ShimaUnimon to guard Davis and Veemon. The fire ogre was fairly strong, and with help of the newcomers - three Champion digimons known as Drimogemon and two Golemons - they managed to launch a surprise attack on the DarkTyrannomons just as when Starmon and Deputymon were losing. Now that they had evened up the score in terms of powers, the good digimons of Harmona fought with all they had to beat the DarkTyrannomons. Outnumbered, the two Chaos Forces were no match for the combined powers of six Champion digimons. Starmon delivered a mighty final blow towards DarkTyrannomon II, aided by Deputymon's Russian Roulette attack, and successfully deleted the dark digimon for good. Fugamon followed suit and fought fire with fire with DarkTyrannomon I. Drimogemon and the Golemons used brute force to smash DarkTyrannomon I around, weakening it to make Fugamon's job a lot easier. The Golemons then hurled DarkTyrannomon towards Fugamon, whom had his fiery club in his hands. Fugamon yanked his club onto the dark digimon's head as hard as he could muster, and deleted him successfully.

Trying to free the elders, the thunder-based digimons such as Thundermon and his stronger Armored counterpart, Thunderbirdmon, electrocuted the dome prison while being extra-careful not to hurt the elders trapped within. Meanwhile, some of the strongest digimons of Harmona cornered MetalTyrannomon, trying to stall for time before the elders could be set free.

The battle between Stingmon and Darkrizamon I was brewing to a close. Darkrizamon I began to feel exhausted while Stingmon kept on going, without any slightest of intention to stop. Both digimons however had inflicted some damages to each other, but Stingmon had the armors to protect him so the injuries were minimal. Darkrizamon I however was not so lucky, although the flames on his body usually prevent digimons from touching him, Stingmon's Spiking Strike attack was based on energy similar to MagnaAngemon's Excalibur.

"Give it up, Darkrizamon! You''ll never win this battle!" Stingmon shouted, and raised his right hand which had a purple energy blade shimmering on it. He zoomed towards Darkrizamon, shouting "Spiking Strike!!"

"In your dreams, foolish insect!" Darkrizamon I taunted, evading the attack successfully. However, he was not as comfident as he sounded. Instead, he was afraid. He never expected the young digimons that he had so enjoyed bullying a few days ago were the same digimon as the fearsome warrior in front of him. He could no longer fight, but tried to prolong the battle, hoping that something would happen to his favor. No such luck, as Stingmon had noticed him being tired.

"What's the matter? Don't tell me you're tired already, lizard!" Stingmon taunted, but keeping his attention glued to his opponent. The antenna on his head suddenly perked up, and pointed towards Darkrizamon I. "Insect Antenna!" he bellowed, and streaks of crimson lightnings erupted from the antenna, going straight towards Darkrizamon I's legs. The attack was so fast that Darkrizamon I did not have enough time to run, and he howled in pain as the attack grazed his fiery feet. Stingmon took the opportunity and darted quickly towards his opponent, and launched a close-range Spiking Strike straight towards Darkrizamon I's heart. He watched for a second as Darkrizamon I's expression contorted as he tried to resist the pain. His eyes bulged wide, but before he could say anything, slowly his body decomposed with data particles slowly leaving his body, starting from the heart region. Stingmon retracted his hand and lowered his head slowly as he trembled a little, watching Darkrizamon I disappearing slowly in front of his eyes. After a while, Darkrizamon I was completely gone.

"I.. I did it," Stingmon stuttered. "I killed a digimon." There was no pleasure in his voice. Instead, it sounded bitter.

"You've done what you should have done, Stingmon," Veemon called out towards the insect warrior.

"Darkrizamon was working for evil, you did the right thing by destroying him!" ToyAgumon said encouragingly.

Stingmon nodded, and although it was hard to see, somehow his expression lightened.

MetalTyrannomon was aghast. All of his minions were gone. Chaos Piedmon would certainly blame him for this. From afar he saw that Thundermon and Thunderbirdmon were almost successful in freeing their elders. He was thinking fast, finding a way to escape. All three enders were Ultimate, and had more experience than him although MetalTyrannomon actually held the better advantage as he had more firepowers. However, he was overcomed with fear. If he run, Chaos Piedmon would hunt him down and destroy him himself. He had promised to make sure that the situation in Harmona was under complete control. He had no where else to go, and he could not return to Tyranno Valley as MasterTyrannomon had banished him for his betrayal.

A thought came to his mind. A plan, which MetalTyrannomon thought was the only way out.

_'Evil digimons don't get reconfigured. It is the natural laws of the Digital World, for they are the threats to the peace and all that is good.' _MetalTyrannomon recalled what he had been told when he was young, back at Tyranno Valley.

"They don't get reconfigured, could it be that their data particles are floating around?" MetalTyrannomon wondered out loud, earning odd looks from the digimons surrounding him, who were hesitating to attack as MetalTyrannomon did not attempt to attack them beforehand.

'Never use the forbidden technique as it will corrupt your heart, making it void of all goodness.'

Yet another thought occured to him. "Yes, that's the only way," MetalTyrannomon said maliciously, his eyes glinting with greed and satisfaction. "I'll never have to fear Chaos Specter, Chaos Piedmon or MasterTyrannomon ever again! No more I'll be working under them!"

He extended his hands wide and roared loudly, causing all the digimons around him to take a few steps back.

"What is he doing?" T.K. asked worriedly.

"I have no idea," ShimaUnimon replied, sounding unsure with himself.

"Me too," Patamon said. "But it can't be good."

All of them watched as swirls of data particles shot towards MetalTyrannomon from five different directions. The data particles were from the deceased Chaos Forces, and as the particles coalesced around the metallic dinosaur's body, strange crimson and black aura erupted from his body. The digimons gasped in shock and disbelief as MetalTyrannomon absorbed all of the data particles. His eyes glowed red, and he felt himself growing larger in size. The data particles he had absorbed from his fallen comrades had given him a power boost.

MetalTyrannomon roared again, but with maniacal laughter as he unexpectedly turned to face Davis and T.K.

"This isn't over, all of you! I'll come back for this town later, and by then there is nothing you can do to stop me!" he said darkly before turning away as quickly as possible towards the town entrance, nearly knocking over a few digimons who were blocking his path. The digimons watched MetalTyrannomon with a mixed feeling of confusion and fear.

However when he was gone, all of the digimons cried happily as they had won back Harmona. Rookie and In-Training digimons were jumping around exuberantly while the Champions and Armors watched the whole event grimly. They were thinking of what MetalTyrannomon had just said before he left Harmona. The young digimons did not take the threat seriously and were happy that the 'bad digimons' were gone. A loud cries of triumph were heard as Thundermon and Thunderbirdmon finally destroyed the dome-prisons, freeing the elders from their captivity.

A while later, the local healer of Harmona was dispatched to treat the injured digimons and the Digidestined. The healer, Witchmon, possessed the same healing capabilities that any Wizardmon had, and she easily healed them back to health. A rather aloof digimon, Witchmon took off from the crowd just as immediately as she had arrived. A few digimons had gathered at the square to watch the Digidestined away. They were Starmon, Deputymon, Fugamon, Guardromon, Stingmon and ToyAgumon.

"Digidestined," Fugamon began to say towards Davis and T.K. "You've given us back, our self-respects."

Davis and T.K. looked at each other, grinning wide. "No, you got that back yourselves," Davis replied. "You're wonderful!"

"But we have you four to thank to," Deputymon said.

"If it weren't for you to first initiate the battle, we wouldn't have gathered enough courage to stand up to the Chaos Forces ourselves," Starmon reasoned.

"Courage," Davis said while rubbing his Diginizer of Courage. "When good people stand together, they can work _miracles_."

Veemon looked up to his partner knowingly, but didn't say anything. T.K. and Patamon however got the pun, and snickered silently, earning themselves confused looks from the digimons.

"I think we better get back to Asuka now. It's getting really late," T.K. said with a polite smile.

"We're gonna miss you guys," ToyAgumon said sadly. He was sitting on Stingmon's right shoulder.

"You're always welcome to visit," Davis said. "Stingmon here can fly you there."

Monzaemon, WaruMonzaemon and Pandamon joined them shortly to watch the Digidestined teleport away. The elders extended their gratefulness for the Digidestined's efforts to save Harmona and for protecting ToyAgumon.

"You and your fellow friends are always welcomed to visit," Monzaemon said.

"That is, after we have repaired the town," Pandamon added with a smile.

"Good journey," WaruMonzaemon said shortly. "And thank you again for your willingness to come all the way here."

"It is our pleasures, elders," T.K. replied.

"See you guys again next time!" Davis said with a wave before the four of them disappeared in rays of blue and green lights.

The peacefulness of Harmona Town was restored thanks to the Digidestined, and the realizations of the villagers of how important it was for them to stand up for their rights and to protect their village. Now they were ready to face any challenge, and thankfully the lesson was given without any sacrifices on their part. Nevertheless, it was a valuable lesson for each and every one of them.

However, the battle was not over yet. One particular digimon who was not really far away from Harmona, had revenge plotted in his mind. He would make the Harmonian digimons pay for the humiliation they had caused him. But first, MetalTyrannomon would wait for the right time to replenish his energy, and to get accustomed by the new powers he had received from the data he had absorbed. The forbidden technique of downloading other digimon's data was banned by the four digi-gods of the Digital World a long time ago, as the technique would corrupt the digimon for good. But MetalTyrannomon did not care. He knew now that with the powers he would never had to run away from anyone ever again.


	18. Chaos Wargreymon's Past Unveiled

**VENGEANCE   
  
Chapter 17 - Chaos Wargreymon's Past Unveiled**

The Protocol Jungle were once a grand city in the past. However it was said that one day, a great battle occured there and as the result the formerly big city of Protocol Kingdom collapsed. The buildings fell into disrepair, some were destroyed, and what remained were left as they were. Mysterious fogs covered the whole kingdom, depriving the digimons there of the warm sunrays. Most digimons who resided there at the time chose to move away to a much better place, and it didn't take long for the formerly glorious kingdom to begin decaying. Moss and vines crept up the dirt and soil-infested walls of the remaining buildings, and wild trees grew around the ruins. Not very far from the ruins was the beach, once an attraction to the kingdom. Now, there was nothing left to attract and the beach suffered the same fate as the rest of the kingdom.

One building however remained intact after centuries. Formerly the temple of the city, now it was known as the Protocol Ruins. A black tower stood in the middle of the clearing leading to the old temple. To reach the temple's entrance, one must climb the one-hundred stairsteps first. Inside the temple was a very large foyer, lit only by the torches hung on the walls. Old red carpets were placed on the floor. More steps could be seen at the end of the foyer, leading to an old throne where the master of the Protocol Ruins, Pharaohmon, usually sat.

Pharaohmon truly was a mysterious digimon. A Mega level Virus digimon, he wasn't that well-known compared to his Ultimate level counterpart, Mummymon. Pharaohmon's features were mostly made out of gold, his face bore resemblance to the coffins encasing the ancient Egyptian pharaohs. He wore white cape, loincloth and had a white staff with a number-eight-shaped proximal ending. He looked forbiding, but no one truly knew his true nature.

The pharaoh digimon didn't like intruders entering his temple, but upon hearing the news of a human and a BlackGatomon tresspassing the area from the three Tsukaimons defeated by the BlackGatomon, Pharaohmon knew that it was only a matter of time before they would reach the temple. True enough, within only a few minutes after the Tsukaimons came, Chaos Specter and Catrina entered the temple.

Angered, Pharaohmon rose from his throne. "To what do I owe this pleasure?" he barked, trying to keep his tone calm. Pharaohmon had a deep voice with an eerie quality evident in the tone, and his voice echoed all over the temple.

"This place is perfect, isn't it Catrina? It's large enough to hold the incubation tube," Chaos Specter said, ignoring Pharaohmon's inquiry.

Catrina shook her head in distaste. "This place is dark and moist, I'd rather go back to the Velvet Claw."

Pharaohmon studied his visitors carefully, deciding not to interfere while the two were talking. He was trying to assess Catrina's prowess.

Chaos Specter turned to look at Pharaohmon. "Ah yes, Pharaohmon. The master of the Protocol Ruins. I have to say that I am very glad to finally meet you. I am Chaos Specter, an interdimensional Digital World conqueror..."

"I've heard about you already," Pharaohmon cut in impatiently. "What is your purpose here, that's what I want to know."

"Ah, so there's no need for introduction. So let's just make this simple. I am very keen in using this place for my experiment, and I was wondering what would the master of the Protocol Ruins would want to say about this?"

"You can forget it, human. I don't make deals with the likes of you. Now if you please, leave this temple."

Chaos Specter clicked his tongue, obviously already anticipating the answer.

"I was hoping to make it simple, but since you are obviously not co-operating I have to take over this shrine _by force_!" He then looked at Catrina with a smile. "Catrina, would you do the honor?"

Nodding vigorously, the BlackGatomon prepared herself into a battle stance.

"With pleasure. BlackGatomon Digivolve to... Bastemon!!"

Pharaohmon watched the whole ordeal carefully. "If you want to seize the sacred temple then you'll have to go through me first."

"I was hoping you would say that," Catrina said curtly. She walked briskly towards the stairsteps of the throne, but Pharaohmon immediately stopped her with his booming voice.

"Don't bother, I'll come down there. After all, you are _guests_." Nobody could miss the sarcastic tone of Pharaohmon, but Catrina ignored it.

Not wanting to waste any time, she immediately jumped towards the Mega with her claws forward. The blood red painted claws glinted maliciously as Catrina grew closer to the pharaoh. Anticipating Pharaohmon to attack back or evade, Catrina raised her guards and made a mental note for another route of attack should her first was not successful. Directing her energy towards her claws, Catrina summoned her trademark attack's name loudly.

"Helter Skelter!!"

Just as Catrina had anticipated, Pharaohmon simply moved out of the way as he didn't want to waste his energy. Using his staff, he tried to knock Catrina's head as it would immediately end the battle or at least stopped it for a while, but with great agility Catrina ignored the staff and zoomed towards Pharaohmon again. Uttering a loud meowing scream, she lashed her claws onto Pharaohmon's body. However, the pharaoh's body was covered by armor and he was protected against attacks such as demonstrated by Catrina. Seeing that her attacks didn't work as she plannned, Catrina jumped in the air and aimed to kick Pharaohmon's head.

"Now that's about enough, little girl. I'm growing weary of this," Pharaohmon said calmly and blocked Catrina's kick with his hand. He then attempted to grab Catrina's leg but she was faster and pulled back instantly. Pharaohmon instantly knew that Catrina lacked experience, and realized that he would win this match easily. But still, it had been long since he had a good fight and Pharaohmon wanted to see how strong the Bastemon he was facing really was. Despite her being the enemy, Pharaohmon and Bastemon were both Egyptian-based digimons and the Mega wanted to use this chance to learn about her more.

He decided to spite her to make her angry. "For shame Bastemon, for carrying the Egyptian goddess's name but can't defeat a pharaoh like me."

Catrina glared at Pharaohmon angrily. "Oh, you asked for it! Vampire Dance!!" She jumped again towards Pharaohmon and made a graceful yet quick spinning movements, with kicks and claws all directed towards Pharaohmon. Waves of orange bats erupted from her hands, but Pharaohmon swatted them away with his staff. She was spinning so fast Pharaohmon had quite a hard time deciphering her movements, and before he could evade Catrina landed a well-aimed kick towards his stomach, and slashed her claws at his chest. Clearly she had exerted more power on her attacks as scratch marks could now be seen on his armor. Pharaohmon regretted that his armor wasn't made of Chrome Digizoid, but it was strong enough to sustain attacks from even Mega digimons.

"Necro Mist!!" Pharaohmon immediately sprayed a jet of mist from his staff towards Catrina. Coughing violently due to inhaling the mists, Catrina suddenly realized that her powers were decreasing at an alarming rate. Her vision too was obscured by the mists, and she couldn't see Pharaohmon suddenly loomed towards her. All was too late when she was knocked on her head by Pharaohmon's staff, causing her to fall onto the floor.

Catrina rolled over the ground and got up instantly. Pharaohmon was impressed, he had underestimated her before.

"You use underhand means! Two can play the same game!!" she shouted angrily, and her eyes glowed red. Spreading her hands wide, red smokes began to emit from her body and her figure began to illuminate with orange lights. Catrina hunched slightly and her hands instantly changed shape to become those of a cat's front paws. Her body and face underwent the same transformation, all her clothes disappeared and her beautiful facial features changed to a fierce cat-like one. Her long red hair disappeared as well. Catrina had transformed into a panther-like digimon with faint spots on her brownish-black fur. Her paws bore sharp crimson claws which looked even more fearsome than when they did when she was in her human form.

"In this form, I'm faster than before!" she cried, and Pharaohmon noted a change in her voice as well. Gone was the sultry cat-like voice, the cat creature in front of him was growling fiercely as she spoke. Pharaohmon instantly knew that he had to tread his way more carefully, clearly the Bastemon's new mode allowed her to move even faster.

Chaos Specter watched with pride as his pet successfull transformed into her cat mode. Knowing that a Bastemon's secret ability was to change her appearance from humanoid to cat-like at will, he knew that the battle between Catrina and Pharaohmon had just begun.

**_----------DIGIMON ANALYZER-----------  
Bastemon, Ultimate level digimon of Virus type. In her cat form Bastemon retained her two attacks, but her powers increased considerably as well as her speed. In this form she is more agile, but is more vulnerable on the head as it would cause her to change back to her human form when it is hit with force._**

**_----------DIGIMON ANALYZER-----------  
Pharaohmon, Mega level digimon of Virus type. His attacks are Necro Mist and Tut Ankh Rail._**

Pharaohmon was having a hard time evading Catrina's attacks this time around, as the speed Catrina had gained from her transformation had proved to be useful. She would switch back and forth between attacking at close and far ranges. With her speed Pharaohmon felt as if he was fighting two digimons at one time. Catrina had successfully clawed him on various places, his cape was shredded as well in the process. Growing tired slightly, Pharaohmon lauched his Necro Mist attack again to weaken Catrina's power again. However, the transformation seemed to have increased Catrina's resistance to the mists as well, as she didn't seem to be relenting. Instead, she just roared and fired waves of bats towards him in retaliance.

Catrina landed on the floor a few metres far away from Pharaohmon. Her opponent was very strong, but she was surprised at her own prowess. She didn't expect herself to be this effective, already she had tire out a Mega digimon. Although lacking experience, her powers were still quite high. Determined to please Chaos Specter even further, Catrina collected her energy and prepared to attack again. However Pharaohmon was prepared to take on Catrina again.

"Tut Ankh..." he said slowly, and the eight-shaped end of his staff glowed with dark purple aura. Pharaohmon then spun his staff, at first it was done slowly but was picking speed. Spinning the staff even farther, Pharaohmon began to chant in a language that Catrina couldn't understand. His chants were slow, but became gradually faster as his staff spun quicker. Black smokes began to form around the spinning staff and eerie wailing sounds were heard out of nowhere. A ghostly face of a pharaoh materialized from the black smokes and Pharaohmon then stopped spinning his staff, pointing it towards Catrina and bellowed mightily, "...Rail!!!"

Waves of black smokes with the pharaoh's face instantly jet towards Catrina, and before she could evade the ghostly pharaoh's face had soared through her body while wailing loudly and hauntingly. To her horror, she felt her body became numb all of a sudden. Realizing that she was completely paralyzed, Catrina felt suddenly helpless. Pharaohmon took the opportunity to attack her again with his Necro Mist, but Chaos Specter quickly intervened using a golden staff with the head of a cobra crafted on its proximal end. The cobra staff quickly absorbed all the Necro Mist before the mists came into contact with Chaos Specter.

Chaos Specter stood protectively in front of the fallen Catrina, who had reverted back to her human form and was unconscious. Glowering angrily towards Pharaohmon, his eyes glowed red the same way Catrina's eyes did when she transformed into her cat form.

"That's far enough, Pharaohmon," Chaos Specter threathened. "Now you'll face me."

"You must be out of your mind, human!" Pharaohmon spat unbelievingly. "It's lucky that you've decided to protect your fallen partner before I finish her off." He eyed Chaos Specter's cobra staff carefully. "But how can a human stand a chance against a Mega digimon like me?"

"Do not underestimate me, you haven't seen anything yet," Chaos Specter said, his tone became more dangerous. He raised his staff towards the sky and screamed out loudly. The cobra staff glowed with black aura and two spirits, one of a silent black demonic warrior and the other of a screeching crimson-colored skeletal bird with feathery wings. The two spirits coalesced on the air momentarily before entering Chaos Specter's body. His roar became louder as his body took on the form of the black demon warrior, his shoulder length straight jet-black hair grew longer and turned into glowing yellow and his face were covered with a black helmet depicting the face of a demon with three crimson eyes. The helmet only revealed his eyes, which were still glowing red. His armor was mostly black, with several larger-than-life sized eyes on both shoulders and the center of his chest. Two jagged red blades came out from his hands, which took on the forms of the skulls of demonic animals.

Then, the screeching buzzard spirit loomed towards the armored Chaos Specter and entered his body. Instantly, great red and black wings sprouted on his back. His helmet changed slightly, with the beak of the bird creature combined on top of the three horned helmet, covering the third middle eye. His body armor took on a more drastic change as the eyes were now covered with bone-like armor that came from the bird spirit. Long skeletal crimson tail erupted from his behind, slithering its way onto the ground. His leg armors looked like a blend between the demon warrior's armor and the bird's skeletal structures. His feet had the same features, with what looked like armored boots combined with the claws of the buzzard. Finally, the newly-formed creature grew twice Pharaohmon's size.

"Prepare for your demise now Pharaohmon, for I'm no mere human!" Chaos Specter exclaimed, and Pharaohmon could only close his eyes as flashes of blinding red lights covered his version, along with Chaos Specter's loud laughter. Pharaohmon felt an intense heat all over his body before his vision became nothing but black, and he felt nothing else as his body slumped onto the floor helplessly.

* * *

Chaos Wargreymon's journey from the North Sector to the East took nearly one week, with stops rests during the nights. He could fly faster, but his energy was still pretty much gone due to his battles with the digimons of Kulon Mines. As he flew he recalled back the events that took place there after he'd retrieved the Xeed Crystal, which he was assigned to retrieve.

**_Flashback_**

Before stepping up onto the podium deep inside the heart of the Kulon Mines, Chaos Wargreymon had lost a large amount of energy and no longer was able to sustain his Mega level. He had dedigivolved back to his Rookie form of Chaos Agumon before climbing up the stairs of the podium with great difficulty. From what he'd remembered the purple crystal was hovering on its own on the podium. Just as he was about to retrieve the crystal, a ghostly image of two serpents entwined into each other materialized from within the crystal. Dark red lights beam were shot from the Xeed Crystal towards him before he was knocked out unconscious.

When he woke up, no longer was he at the podium. He was on a chill ice bed, which was glowing green. To his surprise, Kuzuhamon was sitting on an icy chair beside him, looking at him intently.

"How did I get here?" Chaos Agumon asked groggily, trying to adjust his vision to the sudden intrusion of blue-white lights reflected from the frozen lake.

Kuzuhamon's look was sorrowful. "When you didn't come back after three days, I know something was amiss. Thus, for the first time ever I disobeyed Lord Ebonwumon's command of never leaving my post here, and went to look for you. I saw that you had killed all of the digimons guarding the Fire and Dark regions of this Mines."

Chaos Agumon was about to reply when Kuzuhamon suddenly hissed, cutting him off instantly.

"How could you?!"

Chaos Agumon decided not to answer lest his reply would upset Kuzuhamon even further. Instead, he jumped off the ice bed and scanned his surroundings. Noticing that the Xeed Crystal wasn't with him, Chaos Agumon began to feel slightly frantic and his eyes darted all over his surroundings, including Kuzuhamon.

"What are you looking for?" Kuzuhamon asked, more puzzled than annoyed when Chaos Agumon stared at her.

"A crystal. The Xeed Crystal."

"Oh, that's the thing that caused you to kill all the innocent digimons of this Mines."

Chaos Agumon rolled his eyes impatiently. "I don't have time for this, Kuzuhamon. Do you, or do you not, have the crystal?"

"What if I have it?" Kuzuhamon asked, her tone slightly shrill. "And what if I won't give it to you? This crystal must be very valuable because Lord Ebonwumon told us to guard it with our lives. Not to forget that you've killed...."

"Will you stop mentioning about that?!" Chaos Agumon shouted angrily. "It's not like I enjoyed it back then!"

"I doubt that. How can you not enjoy killing them? You're ruthless, and you know that!"

Chaos Agumon's temper flared up, and he suddenly Warp-digivolved back to his Mega form of Chaos Wargreymon.

"Ruthless? Woman, I can easily destroy you now if you don't hand me the crystal. Then you will know how ruthless I really am!"

Kuzuhamon was undaunted. "Well go ahead! I won't give it to you that easily, and you know that!"

"Don't push me too far, Kuzuhamon," Chaos Wargreymon warned, his tone however was weary.

"Well I DON'T have your crystal, Chaos Wargreymon! I suppose you should know better than that!" Kuzuhamon said, and placed a finger onto Chaos Wargreymon's golden chest-plate. Chaos Wargreymon looked down, and was amazed to see that the Xeed Crystal was embedded on his armor.

"How did it happen? How did it get there?"

"How should I know?"

Chaos Wargreymon walked away from Kuzuhamon, never feeling more irritated than he ever was in his whole life. Even Chaos Piedmon and Chaos Seadramon combined never irk him as much as Kuzuhamon had done. He wondered why he hesitated to finish off her the same way he did to the other digimons. His thoughts then came back to the event when he had spared the life of Kari Kamiya, one of the Digidestined. That alone had baffled him to no end.

"Where are you going?" Kuzuhamon demanded.

Chaos Wargreymon sighed impatiently. "I'm going back to give this crystal to my master."

Kuzuhamon began to take a few steps forward, but Chaos Wargreymon was quicker. He formed a miniscule form of the Terra Force and aimed it towards the Ice Lake where Kuzuhamon was about to step on. The fireball caused the frozen ice surface to explode, and Chaos Wargreymon took the opportunity to fly away before Kuzuhamon was able to stop him.

**_End Flashback_**

Chaos Wargreymon felt amused all of a sudden. Why did he do such a thing when all his life he'd never hesitated to kill any digimon. He couldn't bear the thoughts of killing the elegant lady fox digimon, and by thinking of this during his whole journey he didn't realize that he had arrived at the northern quadrant of the East Sector. Feeling slightly tired, he decided to take a break and landed quietly inside the thick forests there. He sat near a very large tree, and leaned his body against the tree deciding to take a short sleep to replenish his energy.

However his sleep was cut short when he heard urgent cries for help coming from somewhere deep inside the forest, and the cries were approaching him. Standing up immediately, Chaos Wargreymon was unsure of what to do. He then decided to sit on the tree branches and see what was going on from atop.

Not much longer later, he saw two figures of digimons whom he knew as the Tapirmons were running, or floating, at top speed. One of them were crying for help, from its voice Chaos Wargreymon could easily deduce that it was a male Tapirmon. The other one was definitely female, Chaos Wargreymon got the idea by watching what the female Tapirmon was holding so close to her. It was a digi-egg.

"Help! Help!" they cried helplessly, while running they kept on looking behind them. Chaos Wargreymon could tell that they were being chased.

Suddenly a thin lithe orange hyena leapt up towards the two Tapirmons. Chaos Wargreymon recognized it as a Fangmon, a menacing Champion digimon known for its notoriousity. That Fangmon was gaining on the scurrying Rookies, and soon it leapt again and landed in front of the Tapirmons.

"Going somewhere, little tapirs?" Fangmon said, baring his fangs.

The Tapirmons backed away slowly. "Please don't hurt us!" the male Tapirmon begged.

"Please, let us go," the female Tapirmon continued. Hearing her voice confirmed Chaos Wargreymon's earlier deduction.

"You two should be at the Marina Bay Village instead of here, right? Master Chaos Seadramon won't be happy to see that the village have lost two of its occupants." Fangmon leered closer towards the Tapirmons until the two Rookies could feel his warm, foul-smelling breath. "But then again, the two of you are so small, so little, maybe he won't notice that you two are gone! Ha ha ha ha!"

"Please..." the male Tapirmon begged for mercy.

"Oh what's this? A digi-egg?" Fangmon's attention quickly averted towards the digi-egg the female Tapirmon was holding. "An appetizer for me before I devour your data! What a lucky day this going to be!"

"You... you wouldn't! It is forbidden! The digi-gods have banned any digimon...." the male Tapirmon protested when Fangmon quickly cut him off.

"Ahh.. but they are currently being locked up at who-knows-where, thanks to that Chaos Specter guy. I've always hated the rule set by the oh-so-good Azulongmon! Now that he's out of the way..." Drools started to pour from Fangmon's mouth as he sniffed the digi-egg, which the female Tapirmon was trying to move away in vain.

Something in Chaos Wargreymon snapped. Seeing the Fangmon bullying the Tapirmons with a digi-egg had angered him, but when the hyena threathened to consume the Tapirmons and the digi-eggs data as well was the last straw. He himself never did such a thing as absorbing other digimons' data even though when he had killed them. By doing that he would deny the chance of allowing the fallen digimons to be reconfigured back into their digi-egg forms. And something about harming a defenseless digi-egg had caused him to be infuriated. Chaos Wargreymon immediately leapt down from the branch he was sitting and zoomed towards the Fangmon.

"What the..." Fangmon could barely finish his sentence when Chaos Wargreymon's claw picked him up from the grounds. Struggling, he was shocked that it was a Wargreymon who was attacking him. Silently cursing his fate, he knew that he wasn't going to escape. He was as good as gone, especially when Chaos Wargreymon used his another claw to form a small Terra Force and blasted him into oblivion before Fangmon could even protest.

The two Tapirmons watched in awe as their savior landed in front of them.

"Thank you, oh hic thank you, Wargreymon, hic, for saving us!" the female Tapirmon said gratefully between restrained sobs.

"Thank you, oh how can we ever repay you?" the male Tapirmon asked, looking at Chaos Wargreymon's troubled expression.

"Can I... take a look at the digi-egg?" Chaos Wargreymon asked hesitantly.

The female and male Tapirmons looked at each other uncertainly.

"No.. never mind.." Chaos Wargreymon started saying before he was cut off by the female Tapirmon.

"It's okay, here, hold it," she said while placing the digi-egg on Chaos Wargreymon's palm.

"I won't drop it," Chaos Wargreymon assured, and looked closely at the white digi-egg with yellow stripes decorating the egg. Something was stirring in his mind, something very familiar. Something really, really, really familiar, and it was about to come back to his memory.

Suddenly the digi-egg glowed with white light, and a small black-colored Botamon hatched out from the egg. The Botamon looked at Chaos Wargreymon hesitantly before blowing him with harmless bubbles. The dino-man digimon was barely surprised and gave the Botamon to its parents, the two Tapirmons who were beaming with pride.

"Oh, we're really sorry, sir, he's just a baby," the male Tapirmon apologized.

"No, no...it's allright, I..." All of a sudden, waves of memories hit Chaos Wargreymon one after another. A colorful place, a young red-eyed young girl, a curious red rodent with purple stripes, all of his past memories were coming back to him.

"Anything wrong?" the female Tapirmon asked, holding the baby Botamon close to her.

"Bota Bota?" the Botamon said, curious of what was going on around him.

Chaos Wargreymon snapped out from his mild trance, and looked at the three digimons in front of him. "I.. I finally remembered!"

* * *

Back on Earth, the younger generations of Digidestined gathered at the park to discuss about what had happened the previous day. Davis and T.K. took turn to explain their encounters and battles the day before, while Ken, Yolei and Cody, and the digimons listened intently. Kari was still not back from her holiday at Hokkaido, and T.K. promised to e-mail her later about the full story.

"Looks like the battle between us and the Chaos Forces are getting more intense," Cody observed after hearing the story.

"Has it ever occured to any of you guys that we've not even seen this Chaos Specter," Yolei asked them. "I wonder whether he's cute or not."

Ken scowled slightly, but tried to hide it. "Yeah, that's really weird."

"I don't think I want to meet him, though. He sounds like a really nasty guy," Yolei said as an afterthought. Obviously she saw Ken's reaction and decided to add something more to assure Ken of whatever he was feeling.

"That MetalTyrannomon is going to come back to that town," Davis said suddenly. "He'd vowed to return. And did you guys know what he did? He seemed like he was absorbing the data particles from the other bad digimons when they were defeated."

"That is called the data absorption method," Ken said darkly. "It is said to be a digimon's short-cut of a way in getting stronger and reached their higher digivolutionary stage faster. However by doing that the digimon is denying its fallen opponent the chance for it to reconfigure itself."

"Now that you've mentioned it, that MetalTyrannomon did seem to look a lot stronger after taking the data particles," T.K. told them. "But why didn't he just attack there and then, if he's getting stronger?"

"It's because that MetalTyrannomon would need some time to adjust himself with all the new data he'd taken. Not to mention from five digimons, it could take him a while," Ken answered.

Davis was awed. "How do you know all this, Ken?"

"Oh Davis, you're so dense!" Yolei chided. "Ken was the... oh, urm.."

"The Digimon Emperor," Ken finished up the sentence, smiling a little. "It's okay."

T.K. decided to change the topic, and told them another of their recent discovery. "Do you know that Gennai has modified our Digimon Analyzers again, and it's way cool! Even in my Transdigivolved form as MagnaAngemon I can call on the analyzer to assess my opponent."

"I can't wait to see that!" Cody said, slightly excited.

"Now Cody, you really sounds like Izzy," T.K. said good-naturedly.

"Well, he isn't given the Diginizer of Knowledge for nothing," Davis added. Cody blushed a little, but didn't reply to any of their comment.

"Do you guys know that our situation has actually become more precarious? Without Imperialdramon, we won't stand a chance should Chaos Specter decided to send over Mega digimons, such as those Chaos Generals to fight us. I know both Angewomon and MagnaAngemon are powerful, but even they can't fight off any one of Chaos General on their own," Ken suddenly said.

"Didn't MagnaAngemon defeat Piedmon single-handedly during your first adventures?" Yolei asked T.K.

Patamon decided to answer that. "I was able to give him a good fight, but it was actually WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon who had blasted him inside my Gate of Destiny."

"Then the rest of us really need to Transdigivolve soon," Cody concluded.

The Digidestined continued talking about other things, but at the same time in the Digital World the Velvet Claw was hovering beneath the dark clouds covering the Protocol Jungle. Chaos Specter's plan to take over the Protocol Jungle was successful. Several enslaved strong digimons such as Gorillamons and Apemons were seen carrying the incubation tube containing DemiDevimon inside the temple. A laboratory was set up quickly inside the temple, and a Datamon was put in charge of the experiment. The Datamon had a Vadermon to help him out around the laboratory. Chaos Specter then placed Gorillamon and Apemon to guard the entrance of the temple, and ordered a Megadramon and a Gigadramon to monitor the skies above the jungle and get rid of any unwanted visitors. The beach was usually deserted and the most least likely to be the place where anymon would come. Not taking any chances however, Chaos Specter placed a Shellmon and a Scorpiomon there as well. Finally, deciding that everything was in order Chaos Specter left Chaos-AI to monitor the surroundings while he retreated to his chamber for a rest as he was worn out from fighting Pharaohmon earlier that day.

* * *

**Author's Note**:

Hope this chapter turns out okay. I've been dying to get to the part when Chaos Specter reveals his ability, and where Chaos Wargreymon realizes his true identity. Special thanks to Psychorabbit for 'pushing' me to make Chaos Specter more threathening. Anyone has any idea of what creature did Chaos Specter turn into in this chapter? Don't forget to let me know about your thoughts in the reviews!

_**Lodis Lord**_ - Hey, you've returned for another review. Thanks for liking the story, and I will try to avoid anything fillerish. Don't worry, I will finish writing this story.

_**Psychorabbit**_ - Thanks again for your helpful suggestions, I really, really appreciate them and I will try to make the story progress faster. I've tried putting in two subplots in this chapter, and I'm wondering whether it turn out okay. I still need to learn a lot about writing, and your suggestions are helping me to become better. Thanks for your reviews for this fic and my other fic - _Legends of the Digidestined_.

_**J.D Guy**_ - Welcome! and thanks for reviewing. I hope you'll be reading this.

**Special note about Catrina / Bastemon:**

I don't know whether Bastemon can really switch back and forth between her human and cat forms, but I thought it would be a really nice special ability for her to have. I was thinking of moulding her character to become similar to Catra from _She-ra Princess of Powers_ series that I used to watch when I was little. I barely remember anything about that character, but writing about Catrina/Bastemon I suddenly thought about her, so why not? And note the small similarity between Catrina and Catra, although Chaos Specter's REAL reason of naming her Catrina will be revealed much, much, much later.

------------------------------------------------

P/s - Please check out my new fic as well, _Book I - The Legends of the Digidestined_

---------------------------------------------------------


	19. A Change of Heart

**VENGEANCE **

Chapter 18 - A Change of Heart

Davis was rolling on his bed, trying to get some sleep. However he failed miserably, as the air inside his room was warm and Davis felt as if he was being grilled on a fire. The air-conditioning inside the Motomiya household had chosen an apparently wrong time to go haywire, which meant that for a few days of summer they would have to withstand the intense heat without it's aid.

Sighing, Davis got up and took a comic book on his desk, and began fanning his body with it, desperate for some way to cool off. He had thought of taking a shower, but he just did that before retiring to bed and the idea didn't seem to appeal to him although it was rather tempting. Looking at the end of the bed, he saw that while Veemon was sleeping, it wasn't a peaceful sleep. He could hear the little blue dragon grunting and complaining in his sleep, and could see the sweat that was forming all over the reptile. Not to say that he was in a better condition himself, Davis took his towel and wiped off the sweat from his body.

For a few minutes, Davis sat on the chair not knowing what else to do. Maybe he should had taken Ken's offer to stay with him for a few days. However seeing that Ken was busy with his new volunteer job as a tutor to the younger kids around Odaiba and Tamashi, where he lived, Davis didn't want to be a bother and politely declined.

T.K. would had asked him to come over as well if it weren't for his mother to suddenly decide for a short holiday week to visit their relatives at France. They were leaving in two days time, and Davis knew that they had a lot to packing up to do. Earlier that day, Veemon was seething in jealousy as Patamon related to him about a certain pretty digimon called Floramon that he and T.K. met during the digimon invasion all over the world half a year before. T.K. wasn't any better, he kept saying about meeting a certain beautiful French Digidestined girl whose name seemed to escape Davis's mind for the time being.

Cody was ruled out as he was becoming more busy with his Kendo practice for the upcoming tournament, and Yolei too because Davis didn't think that it would be appropriate for him to just show up at her doorstep and asked to stay over for a few days. Sure, they were close friends but Yolei's family was large in number and Davis didn't want to cause a certain best friend of his to become jealous. Nothing had been declared yet, but both parties had been spotted to give each other subtle hints, and luckily both were smart enough to notice the hints! Thnking of it just made Davis chuckle on his own.

Davis's trains of thoughts were interrupted by a strange series of beepings coming from his Diginizer. The device was blinking with blue lights without any particular reason, and the beepings had seemed to be successful in waking up Veemon.

"Urm... Davis? What's going on...?" the little dragon asked groggily.

Davis opened his drawers and took out his Diginizer of Courage, and his D-Terminal.

"I don't know," he said simply, but suddenly he remembered something very familiar. Kari had mentioned that it had happened to her before, and it led up to her encounters with Hiroshi, and later Wizardmon who was guarding the Seiryuu Archipelago. Immediately he knew that something, or someone, was beckoning him to come to the Digital World.

"C'mon Veemon, we need to go to the Digital World now," he quickly said, and immediately got dressed. Formerly only in his boxers Davis now was dressed in a simple grey sleeveless T-shirt, a pair of brown shorts, and his trusty goggles.

"What? But I'm still sleepy," Veemon complained as his eyes began to droop.

"Come on now buddy," Davis said patiently as he took his Diginizer and D-Terminal. He suddenly had an idea on how to wake Veemon. "Or I'm going there without you. Maybe they'll have lots of food over there, and I'm gonna eat all of them alone!"

"Oh no you don't! Bad news for you, but I'm up!"

'Works every time,' Davis grinned, and pressed the right button on his Diginizer. "Digi-Port, open!"

* * *

With all the equipments for his experiment onto the DemiDevimon was safely transferred into the Protocol Ruins, the space around the Velvet Claw's bridge had never been even more spacious. Chaos Piedmon and Chaos Seadramon were both at each sides of the throne, where Chaos Specter was sitting. He had retired to his private chamber earlier, but after a few hours of sleep the interdimensional Digital World conqueror decided to come back to the bridge. From his facial features, both generals knew that their master was somehow drained of his power, and this was confirmed when Chaos Specter issued his command.

"Make sure everything is under control. That last fight with Pharaohmon was draining all of my powers. It's been a while since I've resorted to use that as a resort."

Chaos Piedmon nodded calmly. "You should be resting, master. We'll make sure that nothing will go wrong."

"No, the last time you've said that Harmona town had escaped my clutches," Chaos Specter said flatly, and turned his attention to face Chaos Seadramon. "And should you be monitoring that Marina Bay Village?"

Chaos Seadramon hung his face down. "I've assigned my minion, WaruSeadramon, to watch over the area this day."

"Fool, that's the folly Chaos Piedmon had done, by leaving that MetalTyrannomon at Harmona. Look at what had happened, five of my Chaos Forces were deleted. And where is that traitorous digimon anyway? I know he is not deleted yet!"

"We've yet to locate his whereabouts, master," Chaos Piedmon answered slowly. "But if you wish for me to find him..."

"Leave him be. I've ordered Chaos-AI to take care of that. We have a more pressing matter to be concerned of. Chaos Piedmon, have you proceeded with our plan to conquer Tyranno Valley?"

"Not yet, my lord. The defences there are strong, it will not do us any good to infiltrate the valley now. The Chaos Forces are mostly consist of Champion digimons, while digimons of Tyranno Valley are known for having a lot of Ultimate and Armor digimons. The leader, MasterTyrannomon is a very powerful Ultimate digimon, some say that his power rivals a Mega. It is because of his powers, bestowed upon him by his predecessor when the current MasterTyrannomon was elected as the leader of the clan."

"Interesting report, maybe I should go there myself," Chaos Specter muttered, his emerald eyes glinting. "That is, when I've recovered from my loss of powers."

"Don't trouble yourself, my lord," Chaos Piedmon offered. "You only have to issue the command and I or Chaos Seadramon will do it for you."

Chaos Specter was suddenly angered, but his expression didn't give that away. However his tone suddenly became death-cold as he said: "Are you saying that I'm not capable of fighting? For your information, _generals_, who do you think have subdued Zhuqiaomon alone, while the three of you took more than long enough time to even give Azulongmon or the other two Harmonious Ones a match?!"

"You did, my lord. I'm sorry for my..."

"And speaking of the THREE of you... where is Chaos Wargreymon?!"

Both generals looked at each other, but it was Chaos Seadramon who decided to reply.

"We thought you've assigned him to look for the Zeed Crystal, master?"

"That was TWO weeks ago! He should be back here by now!!"

"Then here I am!" a bold reply came out from the corner of the room. Chaos Specter and his two generals saw Chaos Wargreymon flew into the bridge from the direction where the reply came from.

"What took you so long?" Chaos Piedmon asked with a sneer.

"We're beginning to think that you didn't make it to the journey," Chaos Seadramon added.

Chaos Wargreymon didn't reply, but he stopped in mid-air hovering at the level of Chaos Specter's throne. Chaos Specter was at first slightly baffled by the defiance shown by the general instead of the usual reverance, but his attention shifted to a purple crystal that was embedded on Chaos Wargreymon's chest.

"Welcome back, Chaos Wargreymon. I see you've succeeded in carrying out your assigned mission," Chaos Specter said cooly.

"I know everything," was Chaos Wargreymon's sudden reply. "I remember my past."

Chaos Specter raised an eyebrow, and his face harbored a small smile. "And I assume that's what have kept you from coming back?"

"No. I was held back because of something else that I thought I have to do."

"Oh, and what's that?" Chaos Seadramon asked snidely.

Chaos Wargreymon turned his gaze towards the sea-dragon digimon, and both eyes met.

"Let's just say that you should have been watching your assigned area more carefully."

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

Chaos Wargreymon didn't reply but everyone could see that he was serious. His next sentence however completely caught everyone off-guard.

"I'm leaving," he announced shortly and slowly. "I'm no longer your servant, _Chaos Specter_!"

"How dare you!" Chaos Piedmon shouted. "Have you no respect for our master?"

"You must be out of your mind!" Chaos Seadramon declared. "And what did you mean by leaving?!"

Chaos Wargreymon glared at Chaos Piedmon intently. "He's no longer MY master, clown! And the two of you are no longer my comrades!"

"Like we've ever considered you as one, Chaos Wargreymon! Or is it only Wargreymon now? You've always stuck out like a sore thumb!" Chaos Piedmon interjected, both his hands were already holding his swords. "What baffles me is your reason of leaving. Aren't you the one who's always trying to prove to the master that you're stronger than me or Chaos Seadramon?"

"So why a sudden change of heart?" Chaos Seadramon added.

Chaos Wargreymon was silent, his mind was reeling of all the events that had been occuring to him lately. The encounter with the Digidestined of Light had sparked a forgotten memory within him and that had been the beginning. He began to have some doubts albeit his obedience to Chaos Specter. This was triggered again and again while he was with Kuzuhamon, whose words had somehow reached his heart. Never had he felt remorseful after killing digimons, but after meeting the sorceress Chaos Wargreymon began to feel remorseful of killing the digimons of Fire and Dark regions of Kulon Mines. His remaining faith to Chaos Specter diminished after saving the Tapirmons from the menacing Fangmon, and having the digi-egg hatched within his own hands.

"I know my real path of life now. I was never meant to be a part of this!" Chaos Wargreymon spat, somewhat harshly.

"And you're turning your back now against all of us?" Chaos Piedmon asked warily.

"You're forgetting what the master had done to you, to all of us. Traitor!" Chaos Seadramon declared.

"I've always known that this is coming, Chaos Wargreymon. From the moment I decided to take you under my wing, I've always known that you are prone to betraying me. However, since you have a lot of potential I still keep you, train you and eventually giving you a portion of my own power, making you my Chaos General. I have no doubts that you are the strongest of the three, but emotionally you are always the weakest. Your earlier hesitations to kill during the early days you've entered my service were a clue to what you would have become, although in time those of what you call a _conscience_ had left you, and you emerge as the most ruthless warrior I've ever seen," Chaos Specter said calmly, although no one could have mistaken the fury in his eyes and a dark aura began to glow from his body.

Chaos Wargreymon was undaunted. "So you've known all along."

"I do, and that's why I've prepared for this!" Chaos Specter rose up from the throne, and instantly his cobra-staff materialized in his right hand. Without warning, a simple wave of the staff caused the eyes of the cobra to shoot out two flames of slithering serpents towards Chaos Wargreymon.

Chaos Wargreymon quickly energized a counter attack, forming a small Terra Force within his claws. However the serpents glided away from him easily and with unimaginable speed the two serpents entered both of his eyes. The original green orbs of Chaos Wargreymon suddenly turned to burning red. His body erupted with dark aura similar to Chaos Specter before limping to the floor unconscious.

"Do you really think I'm going to let you get away that easily, Chaos Wargreymon? After you have that Zeed Crystal on your body? You could have ruined everything!" Chaos Specter whispered, and slumped back on the throne looking even weaker than before. Both Chaos Piedmon and Chaos Seadramon were shocked to see their master subdued a stronge Mega digimon such as Chaos Wargreymon.

"The next time any of you are thinking of doing the same thing, well think again," Chaos Specter warned softly.

"We won't betray you, master. Our loyalty to you have never wavered," Chaos Piedmon said and kneeled on the floor. Chaos Seadramon bowed his body low onto the floor.

"Get up, both of you!" Chaos Specter snapped and stared on the limp body of Chaos Wargreymon. "I have no doubts on your loyalties. However rest assured that Chaos Wargreymon's loyalness will not stray ever again!"

Chaos Piedmon and Chaos Seadramon couldn't help but to feel slightly glad of their rival's downfall.

"With Chaos Wargreymon's return with the Zeed Crystal, I can finally proceed with the next step of my plan," Chaos Specter muttered.

"What are you going to do with him, my lord?" Chaos Piedmon inquired politely while Chaos Specter was aiming his staff towards Chaos Wargreymon's body.

"Turn him around, Chaos Piedmon," he instructed, as Chaos Wargreymon was lying with his face down. "Turn his body upwards, I want to see the Zeed Crystal that is now embedded on his body."

Chaos Piedmon did as he was instructed, and Chaos Specter used his staff to send a jet of thunderbolts towards the crystal. However, the Zeed Crystal let out a glowing purple aura around itself, nullifying the thunderbolts from Chaos Specter's cobra staff. The purple aura seemed to be forming a force-field around the crystal, making it indestructable and well-protected. Images of two serpents entwined to each other glowed suddenly from within the Zeed Crystal, before fading again.

"I can't get the crystal out from Chaos Wargreymon's body!" he said furiously, but suddenly a smile began to form on his pale face. The smile was a wicked one, but it usually a sign to both generals that Chaos Specter had thought out of a new plan, or a better plan.

"What do you have in mind, my lord?" Chaos Seadramon asked nervously.

Chaos Specter seemed to be temporarily lost in his thoughts, and was saying something to himself. His voice however was clear enough to be heard by the others.

"That DemiDevimon is not strong enough to evolve all the way to Mega, although with that fool Devimon's DNA he still isn't showing any progress. However keeping him is important, as he has the data of the Kimeramon created by the former Digimon Emperor inside him. Only with him my plan will work. To make the Zeed Crystal fuse with DemiDevimon I will have to fuse Chaos Wargreymon as well. I don't know if this forcedDNA Digivolution between DemiDevimon and Chaos Wargreymon will work, but..."

_"MetalTyrannomon's current place of location detected. Waiting for command to show the location on the wide screen."_

Chaos-AI's announcement didn't seem to attract Chaos Specter's attention, and the two generals looked at each other contemplating whether to cut their master's trains of thoughts or not.

"Master?" Chaos Piedmon said slowly, careful not to sound rude.

"What?!" Chaos Specter snapped irritably, annoyed with the abrupt interference.

"Chaos-AI has announced that she'd found the location of MetalTyrannomon. She's waiting for your order to present MetalTyrannomon's location in the wide screen."

"Proceed."

_"Acknowledged. Showing MetalTyrannomon's location on the wide-screen now."_

The blank, black wide-screen suddenly flickered with life and a map of the East Sector showed up. A red glow was seen on the southern quadrant, at a location which Chaos Piedmon knew only too well.

"Harmona Town?"

* * *

Davis and Veemon walked out from the Digi-port and instantly found themselves at a familiar location. However the place was in a midst of a warzone. They were standing in front of the entrance into Harmona Town. Even before entering, the two of them could hear cries of various digimons and a loud menacing roar which sounded mechanical, and familiar.

"I don't think I'm gonna see any food here," Veemon said in terror. "What's happening here?!"

"That roar... sounds like old big and ugly is back! Are you ready, Veemon?"

"Sure thing, Davis. You're lucky that I'm already full from dinner!"

Davis sweatdropped as he pointed his Diginizer of Courage towards Veemon. "Diginizer of Courage, Energize!"

**"Veemon Digivolve to... ExVeemon!!"**

Quickly both of them entered Harmona and saw MetalTyrannomon fighting two of the three Elders of the town. WaruMonzaemon and Pandamon didn't seem to be faring to well, while Monzaemon was sprawled on the ground. Davis and ExVeemon could see Starmon, Deputymon, Guardromon and Fangmon scattered all around MetalTyrannomon, they seemed to be weakening and injured. Guardromon seemed to be suffering the worst; smokes were coming out from his body and its right hand seemed like it was going to detatched itself from the android's body. Starmon and Deputymon both suffered minor cuts on their bodies, while Fangmon was seen without his weapon.

"Davis! ExVeemon!!" a voice called out from the air. They looked up and saw Stingmon descending from the sky, with ToyAgumon on his shoulder.

"Oh we're so glad you're here!" ToyAgumon cried happily.

"What's going on here?" Davis asked as Stingmon landed smoothly on the ground.

"When MetalTyrannomon said that he was going to come back, we didn't realize that it'd take him only a couple of days to do that. He attacked Harmona during the dead of the night while the townsmon were sleeping. The elders tried to block him from going to the houses and the villages outside the town center, but he's gotten way stronger!" Stingmon informed them.

"So let's help them!" ExVeemon said. Stingmon placed ToyAgumon gently beside Davis, and flew with ExVeemon towards the raging MetalTyrannomon. As they arrived at the battlefield, MetalTyrannomon had successfully blasted away both WaruMonzaemon and Pandamon with his Giga Destroyer II attack.

"Hey! Remember me?!" ExVeemon cried from the air, and fired his signature attack towards the Ultimate digimon.

"Spiking Strike!!" Stingmon followed, and thrusted his glowing purple blade into MetalTyrannomon's body.

Both attacks however rebounded from MetalTyrannomon, and the mechanical-dinosaur digimon laughed loudly.

"Pathetic! Giga Destroyer II!!" he retaliated, and fired two missiles from his claws, aimed towards the newcomers. The attacks were blasted at such close proximity and with amazing speed that neither ExVeemon nor Stingmon had time to evade. As the result, they were hit squarely on the chest and both fell onto the grounds.

"I think it's time to have both of your wings clipped, just to make the fight a little bit more fair," MetalTyrannomon said menacingly, and grabbed ExVeemon with one claw and Stingmon with the other. He looked back and forth between ExVeemon and Stingmon, clearly deciding who would be the first one. Finally settling his gazes onto Stingmon, he threw ExVeemon onto the metallic surface of the grounds and put one leg onto the dragon's head to stop him from escaping.

"Let me go!!" Stingmon shouted, trying desperately to wriggle himself free from MetalTyrannomon's grasp.

"You've been a thorn at my side for a while, Stingmon," MetalTyrannomon said slowly and smirked. "I shall enjoy devouring your data, you're a strong one compared to the five losers I've had during our last encounter."

"Devour on this! Insect Antenna!!" Stingmon yelled, and sent crimson thunderbolts towards MetalTyrannomon's eyes from his antennae. Immediately he was released from his grasp as MetalTyrannomon howled in pain, clutching his grazed eyes. ExVeemon was free as well and quickly flew out of the way.

"You hungry? Try this on for size! Vee Laser!!" ExVeemon cried loudly and attacked the other eye.

"Don't forget your dessert! Moon Shooter!!" Stingmon fired hundreds of poisonous needles towards MetalTyrannomon to paralyze him completely. The needles were all shot at various spots on MetalTyrannomon's body, with some of them rebounded upon contact while a small portion of the needles sunk into the organic parts of the dinosaur's body. Shouting due to excrutiating pain he was experiencing, MetalTyrannomon rolled on the grounds trying desperately to get the needles out of his body. It wasn't an easy job as his eyesight were robbed out of him from Stingmon's earlier attack.

"He's a strong one, I'll give him that," Stingmon said as he flew near ExVeemon. "He's not even paralyzed yet."

"Oh give it time. I've seen how it works before, and trust me it's not a pretty sight!" ExVeemon said lightly, remembering the incident at the File Island. "But I really have to say that you are pretty strong for being able to sustain your Champion form after using that attack. The Stingmon I knew instantly dedigivolved back to his Rookie form after using that attack."

"I do feel weaker now, but I'm glad that we've taken care of MetalTyrannomon," Stingmon replied.

MetalTyrannomon suddenly jumped up from the grounds, landing both his feet perfectly. "You two are so going to pay for this!! How DARE you rob me out of my eyesight, and poisoned me!"

Both ExVeemon and Stingmon looked at MetalTyrannomon confusedly; the Ultimate digimon had his back facing them while he was talking.

"You might want to turn around," ExVeemon muttered.

MetalTyrannomon however remained unmoved. "How dare you... I'll show you...." His body glowed with the eerie black and crimson lights, just as how it had been during the times when he absorbed the other Chaos Forces' data particles. "I'm saving this in case of desperate measures, but now it's look like I have no choice but to unleash my REAL power! Consider this an appetizer!!"

He roared an earthshaking roar, causing all the windows of the buildings in the town square to shatter due to the intense vibrations of the sound waves. His roar became louder and more sinister as black and crimson lights enveloped his body.

"Don't look now, but I think he's gonna digivolve!" ExVeemon said worriedly.

"If MetalTyrannomon digivolves, he's going to be in his Mega form!" Stingmon exclaimed.

**"MetalTyrannomon Mega Digivolve to... Chaosdramon!!"**

Chaosdramon definitely towered over both Stingmon and ExVeemon, his height propelled until the rooftop of the buildings around the town center. His body was black with red linings, and was heavily armored with strong red metal. Powerful cannons similar to those of Machinedramon's were seen perched on his back. Strong crunchers adorned his hands as claws, and his face bore slight resemblance to his predigivolved form but with a sharp horn on his snout.

"Now that I'm a Mega digimon, what are you two weaklings going to do now?" Chaosdramon asked and swatted both digimons away with his claws. Both digimons were sent flying over to the site where the remnants of the statues of Seraphimon, Zanbamon and Gryphonmon stood. The impact from ExVeemon and Stingmon had destroyed the remainings of the statues.

"What the... he really can see us again!" Stingmon grunted as he struggled to get up.

"Fools! I've more than just a mere pair of eyesight as a method of seeing!" Chaosdramon bellowed. "But thanks to my digivolution, yes I indeed CAN see much better now! It'll be a lot more easier for me to destroy the both of you!"

Davis, with ToyAgumon on his side were watching the battle from the safety of the forest.

"Oh man, that dude is as big as Paildramon!" Davis said while checking out his Digimon Analyzer.

**----------------- DIGIMON ANALYZER ------------------  
****Name :** Chaosdramon  
**Attribute : **Virus  
**Level :** Mega  
**Type :** Cyborg  
**Specialty : **Machine

**Attacks :** Hyper Mugen Cannon, Chaos Cruncher  
**Power Level :** 109

Chaosdramon is known to be as another digivolutionary offshoot for MetalTyrannomon's evolution line apart from the usual Machinedramon. Known to be ferocious and having more firepower, its Hyper Mugen Cannon attack will destroy even a small mountain while the Chaos Cruncher is sharp and hard as diamonds.  
**------------------------------------------------------------**

"No way, Chaosdramon is even stronger than WarGreymon!" Davis exclaimed in a total shock, remembering that Tai's WarGreymon didn't even exceed one hundred in terms of level of power.

"Oh no, how are they going to beat him?" ToyAgumon asked despairingly. "They're no match for Chaosdramon!"

"Hang in there, ExVeemon, Stingmon."

Meanwhile, both ExVeemon and Stingmon were trying as hard as they could to battle the newly-evolved Mega, but they were both outmatched in terms of size and power. Chaosdramon had the advantages, yet he never used them yet against the both of them. Instead, he seemed to relying more on his brute strength.

"It looks like he's taking his own sweet time to attack us with all he got, Stingmon!" ExVeemon shouted.

"That means we're going offensive!" Stingmon declared, and prepared to attack the Mega with his Spiking Strike.

"No.. don't go to close to him!" ExVeemon warned, but Stingmon was too determined to stop Chaosdramon that he didn't listen to ExVeemon. Having more experience, ExVeemon knew that it was better for him to fight from afar as he could see that Chaosdramon was up to something. Stingmon however was a newly-evolved fighter, thus his decisions were rash.

Chaosdramon immediately saw his chance, and hurled his right claw attempting to grab Stingmon. Stingmon however evaded the claw with great agility and tried to strike Chaosdramon on the abdomen, where no armor was donned. Chaosdramon reeled himself a little, and successfully caught Stingmon using his left claw.

"I got you again, Stingmon! And don't even bother to attack my eyes again, I have other means of seeing instead of depending solely on my eyes!"

"Insect Antenna!!" Stingmon shouted, hoping that the attack would work again. However Chaosdramon's eyes shot out an energy beam which countered the attack again.

"And I have a way to stop it from coming," Chaosdramon added. "Do you know how my Chaos Cruncher works, Stingmon?"

Stingmon saw where this was going and struggled as hard as he could to break free. His wings immediately entered the compartment on Stingmon's back, safely hidden if Chaosdramon had any idea to harm his sole way of flying.

"Let me go!"

"They say my Chaos Cruncher is one of the sharpest and hardest around," the Mega continued with a malicious tone. He sneered sinisterly and began squeezing Stingmon hard, attempting to crush Stingmon's armor. Stingmon cried loudly in excruciating pain, feeling cracks beginning to form on his green armor. Within any minute, Chaosdramon would destroy the armor and crushed his body completely.

"Stingmon!!" ExVeemon cried out, attempting to blast Chaosdramon with his laser attack again. "Vee -"

"Attack and you'll only hit your dear friend!" Chaosdramon boomed, and held Stingmon in front of him. "Maybe you aren't made of Chrome Digizoid, but you'll serve as a shield just fine Stingmon."

"You... you're EVIL! You're gonna pay for this!" ExVeemon said angrily, quickly deenergized his laser from the X-mark on his chest.

"ExVeemon, just attack him! Don't bother about me!!" Stingmon yelled, and still attempting to wriggle himself free. "The town needs you! I'm counting on you! Don't hesitate to attack him, I know you can!"

"Stingmon..."

"Don't... mind me. I'll... even... help you... by giving... all my powers!" Stingmon stopped struggling and began to glow with green aura.

"Stingmon NOOO!!" ExVeemon cried out, remembering what had happened during the fight between him and Kimeramon. Ken's Wormmon had given out every bit of his power to him, and ended up dead.

Davis and ToyAgumon gasped loudly as they watched what was happening to Stingmon. But suddenly Davis's Diginizer of Courage began to made more intense beeping sounds, and glowed with blue aura of lights.

**_Transdigivolution Activate!_**

"What in the world?" Davis wondered out loud after hearing the mechanical voice, which sounded suspiciously like Gennai. But before he could think any longer, suddenly he was enveloped with blue lights and was teleported into the battle scene, standing next only to ExVeemon.

The shining red symbol of Courage began to form behind Davis and ExVeemon. The symbol then glowed with intense red and blue lights, showering both Davis and ExVeemon. ExVeemon began to feel that his energy increasing, while Stingmon's body glowed even brighter. Then, two straight jets of green light emitted from Stingmon's eyes and entered ExVeemon's. The insect warrior began to shrink and escaped Chaosdramon's clutches before turning into three streaks of green lights. The green lights were aimed onto the metallic grounds before changing into three small light green digimons whom Davis recognized as Minomons, Stingmon's In-training form.

"We've done all we can, Davis, ExVeemon," one of them spoke up.

"Now it's up to you guys!" Minomon II chirped.

"Give it your best shot!" Minomon III cried exuberantly, albeit his condition. The three of them were noticably injured, but otherwise safe. Starmon, Deputymon and Guardromon quickly rushed to pick up the three vulnerable little digimons, taking them away to a safe distance.

Stingmon's avatar materialized around ExVeemon before it entered the dragon's body, while Davis and ExVeemon began to glimmer with silver-blue lights. ExVeemon suddenly de-digivolved back to Veemon, but both of them knew what exactly was happening, and cried out:

**"Veemon Transdigivolve to... Paildramon!!"**

Within seconds, both ExVeemon and Davis were gone and replaced by a towering dragon warrior digimon in green armor. Standing at the same heights as Chaosdramon, Paildramon took out both of his machineguns to begin attacking. However Davis, now as Paildramon with Veemon inside of him, decided to call upon the analyzer first to assess his chances of fighting Chaosdramon.

**----------------- DIGIMON ANALYZER ------------------  
****Name :** Paildramon  
**Attribute :** Vaccine  
**Level : **Ultimate  
**Type :** Dragon Warrior  
**Specialty :** Lightning, Fighting

**Attacks :** Desperado Blaster, Cable Catcher, Sting Strike, Esgrima, Elemental Bolt, (Vee Laser, Critical Crunch, Spiking Strike, Moon Shooter, Insect Antenna)  
**Power Level :** 80

Originally a DNA-Digivolved digimon, Paildramon is now confirmed as ExVeemon's Ultimate form. Having a versatile forms of attacks from both ExVeemon and Stingmon and its very own array of unique attacks, Paildramon is a force to be reckoned with.  
**------------------------------------------------------------**

_"We may not be as strong as him Davis, but we sure pack quite a punch, right?" _Veemon's voice suddenly quipped from the back of Paildramon's head. At first Paildramon was startled, but then he remembered about Kari and T.K.'s experiences while they were Angewomon and MagnaAngemon, and grinned.

"Sure we do, and we'll give him all we have!" Paildramon said.

_"You may want to say it with your mind Davis, I'm the only one that can hear you."_

"Oh."_ 'I mean, oh'_.

Paildramon jumped in mid-air and activated his guns. "Desperado Blaster!!" Both guns then shot out explosive fire bursts of energy towards Chaosdramon. The attacks exploded upon contact with Chaosdramon, but the Mega's armor protected him from harm. However before he could regain his stance Paildramon launched another rays of Desperado Blaster to him, this time aiming for his un-armored body parts.

"Now to try out another attack! Cable Catcher!!" Paildramon cried, and his claws shot out revealing cables attached to them. He flew around Chaosdramon and managed to tie the Mega's legs with his cables. However by doing so he didn't count on himself for being more vulnerable, and found himself being caught by Chaosdramon's claws. Paildramon tried to pull his cables and make Chaosdramon fall, but the Mega digimon was a lot stronger and Paildramon only managed to retract his cables back.

"Hah, I got you now!" Chaosdramon roared. "Chaos Cruncher!" He began to squeeze Paildramon the same way he did to Stingmon earlier.

_"We're not done yet, Davis! Try the Elemental Bolt!"_

"You got it!"

Paildramon's body began to crackle with elecricity all over. Four energy balls materialized from his body, and hovered around him. They were each colored red, white, yellow and green. Paildramon began to wonder himself how did the Elemental Bolt attack really work as he (Davis) had never seen the attack before. The red energy ball landed on Chaosdramon's claws and instantly the Mega screamed as it burnt his claws with sudden and intense heat, thus releasing Paildramon from his grip.

_"Watch and be amazed, Davis!"_

The white energy ball then landed on Chaosdramon's other hand and instead of burning it, the hand was suddenly covered with ice! The yellow and green energy balls then hurled themselves to Chaosdramon's abdominal region and entered his body. Chaosdramon was suddenly jolted with electrical bolts, and was crying in pain.

_"Elemental Bolt consists of Fire, Ice, Electric and Poison attacks."_

"How do you know all these?"

_"Huh? I just know it. Now attack him with Esgrima!"_

"I have a feeling like you're directing me in doing all the attacks, but oh well. Esgrima!!"

A glowing purple energy blade shot out from Paildramon's right wrist armor, looking like a cross between Stingmon's blade and MagnaAngemon's Excalibur. However the blade elongated and was shaped like a thin sword, similar to a fencing sword.

"Woah, a fencing sword!" Paildramon said in awe. "I've always wanted to play this sport."

_"Well here's your chance."_

Paildramon lunged towards Chaosdramon and thrusted his glowing energy sword into the unaware Mega's stomach. Chaosdramon yelled in intense pain and kicked Paildramon away angrily.

"Hyper Mugen Cannon!!" he shouted, and blasted both cannons on his back towards Paildramon. Paildramon tried to evade but as he was falling he had a hard time trying to regain composure, and was blasted with both cannons. He was sprawled on the grounds, but luckily he wasn't hurt much. His body armor protected him from the major effects of the cannons, but Paildramon still had a few smaller injuries on his legs and even his armor had a little crack on the mid chest region where the cannons hit.

Chaosdramon tried to attack again, but suddenly he felt weaker all over and to his horror, he de-digivolved back to MetalTyrannomon.

"What's going on?" Paildramon wondered.

_"This is our chance, Davis! Desperado-Blaster him!"_

Paildramon quickly took out his machineguns again and fired towards MetalTyrannomon without stopping. MetalTyrannomon could not even shield himself from the attacks and sensed that he was going to be defeated soon if he didn't act fast.

"Giga Destroyer II!!" he yelled and quickly fired the cannons towards Paildramon. Paildramon was distracted while trying to evade, and MetalTyrannomon took the chance to run away as quickly as he could. To make sure Paildramon wasn't following him, he turned back and aimed his signature attack to a nearby building which was a digimon nursery.

"One day Paildramon!! I'll have another fight with you! One day!!" he cried and disappeared in the midst of the night.

"Drats! He got away," Paildramon muttered, trying to get up to follow MetalTyrannomon before his attention was attracted by cries of digimon.

"Paildramon, the nursery! There are baby digimons inside there!!" WaruMonzaemon cried out desperately.

Paildramon quickly rushed to stop the nursery building from tumbling down. The cannons from MetalTyrannomon had blasted away the roof and destroyed two of the pillars that were supporting the building. As the building began to collapse, the other remaining pillars started to crack. Paildramon held with both hands at the places where he destroyed pillars used to be. His phenomenal strength successfully held the nursery in place while several airborne digimons such as Unimon, Seadramon, Airdramon and Birdramon rushed over to evacuate the baby digimons. Ground-based digimons such as Guardromon, Starmon, Deputymon and Fugamon quickly re-enacted some of the destroyed pillars back in place to prevent the nursery from collapsing.

"I'm letting go now," Paildramon said and carefully removed one of his hand to make sure whether the pillars were able to support the building. The nursery remained unmoved, and he gently released his another hand after making sure that all the digimons had cleared out the surrounding. For a while, the nursery remained unmoved but when Paildramon turned around, suddenly the pillars shook violently and the whole building collapsed! Paildramon then realized his folly; his wings had accidentally knocked down the unstable pillars while he was turning around.

WaruMonzaemon and Pandamon, with an unconscious Monzaemon being supported in the middle, walked over to Paildramon.

"I'm... sorry," Paildramon began to say but both elders raised one of their paws to stop him.

"At least all of the baby digimons managed to be evacuated," Pandamon said kindly.

"We can always build another nursery," WaruMonzaemon said. "We really appreciate what you've done for us. No words can be said to express our deepest gratitudes for you being here, Paildramon."

"But... the nursery..."

"We have that wretched MetalTyrannomon to blame for," WaruMonzaemon said patiently. "You've saved us, again, Paildramon."

"Yeah!" ToyAgumon called out, and the three Minomons bounced happily behind the toy digimon.

"Well, I couldn't do it without those three Minomons," Paildramon said, and de-digivolved back to Davis and Veemon.

"We're glad that you've digivolved again!" Minomon I cried out.

"But doesn't that mean you three have lost the ability to become Stingmon?" Davis asked.

The three Minomons looked at each other for a while, before each of their faces broke into a wide grin.

"Nah, we've matured too fast. Stingmon may be great and all, but for the time being we rather remain as kids and progress naturally," Minomon II answered happily.

"Yeah, then all three of us will become three Stingmons!" Minomon III chirped exuberantly.

Looking at the destroyed nursery, Davis suddenly had an idea.

"Tell you what, why don't Veemon and I helped you guys out to build another nursery," he offered.

"Oh no, we couldn't bother you two any more than we have," Pandamon said quickly.

"No it won't. Actually, it gives us a chance to spend more time here. The air here is cool and refreshing, whoever wants to go back to the simmering hot Earth?" Davis said with a grin.

"Well... if that so, then by all means, do stay," WaruMonzaemon said finally. "We could use all the help we can get. Besides, you DID.. well, hmm... _contribute_ to the cause the nursery to end up like this."

Davis and Veemon both face-faulted but realized that WaruMonzaemon meant it in as a joke, as the two elders were laughing heartily, followed by the other occupants of Harmona.

"Then it settled! So when can we...."

_**RRRRRRRRR!!!**_ Suddenly they were interrupted by strange rumbling sounds which strangely came from Davis and Veemon. Both Digidestined and digimon grinned sheepishly and put their hands on their stomachs.

"Let's have a feast first then! You two sure looks like you could've use some," Pandamon suggested.

As dawn came to the East Sector of the Digital World, the occupants of Harmona were busy feasting over the victory of chasing out MetalTyrannomon again. But at the same time in Asuka City, the three angel disciples of HolyAngemon had returned from the north quadrant. A few days earlier they were sent by Gennai and HolyAngemon to look over the matters happening at the villages there Chapter 14 : Revelations to inspect the problems pretaining to the communications between Asuka and the town and villages there. However they came across a startling discovery while at Marina Bay Village, and quickly returned to Asuka. What is their discovery? Find out next, in the next chapter of Digimon : Vengeance.

* * *

**Author's Notes**:

Glad this chapter is finally written, because I can get two of the major plots cleared and introduce the third Transdigivolution pair.

_**HolyAngemon / MagnaAngemon PM**_  
The original Japanese name will be used for the priest version of himself, instead of making it a hassle of naming him MagnaAngemon Priest Mode. In the V-Tamers manga he is Lord HolyAngemon, so I figured that it suits him perfectly. I'll make changes to past chapters but it'll take a while as future chapters are on the way.

**_Paildramon's attacks _  
**Why does Paildramon have so many attacks? I've checked for Paildramon's dubbed names of the attacks, and looked over Megchan's and noticed that they are not the same at all. Well I may be wrong, but having many attacks will make the Transdigivolved digimon more unique. I'll update Angewomon's Digimon Analyzer entry in future chapter.

**Review comments**:

_**Psychorabbit** :_ Thanks for the review and for telling the real spelling of ZeedMilleniummon. I'm rather confused as many fics I've read and sites I've visited opted for the Xeed spelling. Thanks for the idea of how to present the subplots, I'll keep it in mind while writing future chapters. Chaos Wargreymon is a key character in this fic according to the original plan for this story. And finally, I'm really happy that you like Kuzuhamon. She'll be around as a supporting character.

_**Gerjo** :_ Hi! You're back. Sorry to hear about your computer. Catrina will be an integral character in future, and I'm glad you like her. I adore her a lot myself. For now she'll be appearing only from time to time. Thanks for reviewing.


	20. Discovery of a Recent Past

**VENGEANCE  
  
Chapter 19 – Discovery of a Recent Past**

=======================================

Davis, Yolei, Cody and Ken were at the airport, along with their partner digimon who all reverted into their In-training forms. While around the area they were living the digimon were widely accepted, the airport was a place where there were a lot of people outside Odaiba who might not had seen any digimon. Not wanting to take any risk, DemiVeemon, Poromon, Upamon and Minomon had to stay in silent in their partners' backpacks. At first they complained about this, but Yolei immediately ended all the complaints with all the chocolate bars she had taken from her family's grocery store.  
  
They were all waiting for Kari to arrive. Earlier the girl had informed them of her return, but she didn't ask for them to wait for her. It was actually a small surprise they had for her, but with an ulterior motive. T.K. however had flown over to France with his mother and Patamon two days earlier.  
  
"Announcing the arrival of Flight 123A from Hokkaido!"  
  
"That's Kari's flight!" Yolei said, delighted. All of them quickly walked over towards the gate where the passengers from the announced flight would come out. After half an hour, people started to walk out from the gate and the sight of a red-eyed brunette quickly caught Davis's attention.  
  
"Hey Kari! Over here!" he shouted, waving frantically with both hands. Kari saw them, and returned the wave. She was clutching Gatomon against her body, and the feline Champion digimon could easily pass as a stuffed cat toy. She then indicated towards her parents and Tai of her friends' presence before walking over towards them, her face beaming.  
  
"Welcome home!" Yolei said, and hugged her DNA partner tight.  
  
"I didn't know all of you are coming!" Kari said happily, returning the hug. She then proceeded by hugging all of the boys.  
  
"Not all of us, T.K. went to France with his mom a couple of days ago," Cody noted, blushing slightly after being hugged by the older girl. Kari nodded and told them that she was informed by T.K. by e-mail when he had arrived safely at France.  
  
"Hey no fair, Gatomon doesn't have to stay inside the backpack!" came a muffled complaint from Davis's beg.  
  
Gatomon, in her stuffed toy act, couldn't help but to smile. "Well DemiDevimon, it helps a lot if you can blend with the crowd," she said smugly.  
  
"I've got some souvenirs for you guys," Kari said before her parents and Tai approached them.  
  
"We're going home now Kari, but why don't you give us your luggage and follow your friends? I'm sure you have a lot to catch up with," Mrs. Kamiya suggested. Before Kari could agree, the rest of the team quickly nodded their heads vigorously.  
  
"Sure!" Yolei said, her voice slightly high-pitched. Kari noticed that Cody and Ken glared at the lavender-haired girl slightly, while Davis looked nervous. Instantly, Kari realized that them being here wasn't just to surprise her. Something was definitely up, and Kari suspected that it had something to do with the digimon and the Digital World.  
  
"Well... we'll see you later then," Tai said, one of his eyebrows slightly raised before pulling their parents away from Kari and the Digidestined. He then turned around and gave Kari a meaningful nod, followed by a wink. Kari replied by waving her hand slightly and turned to face her friends.  
  
"So... I guess there's another reason of you guys being here?" she asked slowly.  
  
Davis nodded and gave her a sheepish grin.  
  
"Actually, earlier this day we were called to meet Gennai and HolyAngemon. HolyAngemon told us that his three disciples have news that we just might want to hear. He also said that we should try to bring you along, if possible."  
  
"Oh," Kari said as the five of them walked out from the airport. They were heading towards a secluded place, which happened to be a small garden in front of the airport. "Shouldn't we contact T.K. as well?" she asked while releasing Gatomon from her hug. The others did the same with their partner digimon.  
  
"Not unless we really need him," Davis replied. "We don't want to disturb him from his vacation. Besides, HolyAngemon only mentioned you."  
  
"I wonder what is this all about," Kari wondered.  
  
"We don't know, but I'm sure we'll get the answer if we go to the Digital World now. If it's okay with you, of course," Yolei replied. "You don't feel like having jet-lag, or other things like that, do you?"  
  
"I'm sure I can manage," Kari said with a smile. "It's only a two-hour flight."  
  
"Well then, let's get going," Davis said, and opened a Digi-Port. All of them quickly entered the gateway before anyone could see them, as the garden was a public place although it was rather secluded. The Digi-Port took them straight to the inside of Asuka Laboratory, where Gennai, HolyAngemon and his three angel disciples were waiting. During their journey to the Digital World, DemiVeemon, Poromon and Upamon had all digivolved back into their Rookie forms.  
  
"You made it," Gennai greeted them. "Welcome."  
  
"So what's the big emergency?" Davis asked.  
  
"We will just go straight to the point," HolyAngemon said. "My disciples will explain everything to you everything as they were the ones who had met him."  
  
"Him?" Ken asked, confused.  
  
"All will be explained," Gennai assured them, turning towards the three angelic disciples and nodded slightly.  
  
Angemon, Piddomon and D'Archmon stepped forward, and Angemon cleared his throat slightly before relating to the Digidestined of their encounters.  
  
"We were sent by our teacher and Gennai to look over the matter on the northern quadrant of this sector a few days ago when this lab could not establish a connection with the cities there. When we arrived there, the three villages of the north were already conquered by the Chaos Force, under the lead of Chaos Seadramon," Angemon informed them, and glanced left towards where Piddomon was.  
  
"That snake had already conquered Emeraldo City near the northern mountains and the Tree Top Village inside the forests earlier. We spent a few days watching over the two captured cities and found that both were heavily guarded. There we managed to discover Chaos Seadramon's plan on conquering Marina Bay Village near the sea as well. Immediately we decided to intervene and upon arriving there we got into a huge fight with Chaos Seadramon's henchman, WaruSeadramon. Normally by working together the three of us could take on an Ultimate digimon, this WaruSeadramon seemed to be a lot stronger than any average Ultimate. We were having trouble fighting that crazed snake, and were losing if it weren't for him," Piddomon continued and looked at D'Archmon.  
  
D'Archmon continued relating the story with her melodious voice. "It was really unexpected, but as Piddomon had told earlier, we were losing the battle when suddenly a tornado appeared out of nowhere. It was heading towards WaruSeadramon at an unimaginable speed and went straight into its mouth. Then we saw that the tornado was destroying WaruSeadramon from the inside... beginning from the head and ended at its tail where the tornado emerged. However the tornado was beginning to stop swirling and a digimon appeared from the eye of the tornado. It... it was Chaos Wargreymon!"  
  
"It can't be!" Davis said disbelievingly. "He's a Chaos General! How could it be him helping you guys destroying the WaruSeadramon?"  
  
"He must have had another motive," Yolei deduced before looking at Kari to ask for her opinion. However the brunette was silent, as if lost in thought.  
  
"It was Chaos Wargreymon, and he easily destroyed WaruSeadramon. At first we thought he was going to destroy the three of us for interfering, but there was something really different about him," D'Archmon continued.  
  
"What do you mean?" Cody asked.  
  
Piddomon shrugged slightly. "For starters there was a strange purple jewel embedded on his chest plate."  
  
"But it was him himself that was different. He no longer looked... menacing," Angemon said thoughtfully. "I think all of you remembered quite well how did Chaos Wargreymon looked like as all of you had fought him face to face. I've never met him but I've seen him in one of the battle footages recorded by the laboratory."  
  
"Are you saying that he didn't look evil?" Gatomon quipped.  
  
Angemon nodded. "Yes, that's exactly what I am saying."  
  
D'Archmon walked over towards Kari and Gatomon and put a hand on Kari's shoulder. "The strangest thing was," she began to say. "Chaos Wargreymon asked us to pass a message to you, Kari. He said that he wanted to meet you, and that he'd remembered everything about you."  
  
Kari was silent, slowly taking in what D'Archmon had just said. However her mind was reeling fast, thinking. 'Remembered? What did he remember, and why does he want to meet me?' The event when Chaos Wargreymon had spared her during their earliest fight came back to her mind. Up till that moment, she was confused of what was the real reason of Chaos Wargreymon's hesitation to kill her. She was furthermore perplexed when he seemed to know her when she had told him her name.  
  
"Kari?" Yolei's voice broke Kari's thought. "What's on your mind?"  
  
The Digidestined of Light shook her head slowly and smiled. "Not much, just thinking about what D'Archmon had told us."  
  
"Are you going to meet Chaos Wargreymon?" Ken asked.  
  
"I wanted to, but how?"  
  
"He said that he'll find you," Piddomon answered. "From the tone of his voice I'm sure that he didn't mean any harm."  
  
"It is unwise to make such assumption, Piddomon," HolyAngemon said sternly before gazing in concern towards Kari. "However if you want to find Chaos Wargreymon, I'd advice that you do not go on your own."  
  
"Of course we won't let her go alone!" Davis said. "All of us will go together."  
  
Gennai nodded in agreement. "That would be good. However now I have to ask you a favor, Digidestined. Earlier, Piddomon had told you that the Chaos Forces already conquered Emeraldo City and Tree Top Village at the northern quadrant. I've sent Piximon and GrapLeomon to assess the situation there. There's no doubt that Chaos Specter will strengthen their hold on those two places, I wouldn't be surprised that the Chaos Generals themselves will be guarding Emeraldo City and the Tree Top Village." (GrapLeomon had recovered from the battle on the File Island earlier, and had been recuperating until recently)  
  
Davis's expression became slightly sober. "Oh man, I can remember all too well how Harmona Town was damaged from this attempt of conquer. My body's still sore after spending two days helping the townsmon repairing their town and village."  
  
"Didn't the others help?" Kari asked, concerned.  
  
Ken, Yolei and Cody smiled sheepishly. "We would," Yolei said while glaring at the mock-cowering Davis. "The only setback was that he decided to inform us about that ONLY after he'd finished."  
  
"Not to mention, he'd forgotten to tell us that he and Veemon had successfully Transdigivolve up until yesterday," Cody added with a slight scowl.  
  
"Aw c'mon, you three know that you were busy with other matters," Davis responded defensively. "Besides, it was nothing Paildramon couldn't handle."  
  
"But..." Ken began to say before Kari interrupted him.  
  
"You two Transdigivolve into Paildramon?" she asked with interest. Davis then explained to her and the other Digidestined of how he'd managed to Transdigivolve and their battle with Chaosdramon.  
  
"Sounds like this Chaosdramon might be another digimon that we should keep an eye on," Gatomon said after Davis finished his explaination.  
  
"Totally," Veemon agreed. "That guy's insanely powerful, but somehow his ability to retain his Mega form is quite limited for the time being. He's MetalTyrannomon for now, a henchmon of Chaos Piedmon apparently."  
  
"Not really," Gennai said. "I've received word from the newly-elected leader of the Tyranno Clan of the Tyrannovalley – MasterTyrannomon – that this MetalTyrannomon you're talking about is a traitor of their clan. Apparently he wanted the position and the power of the leader of the clan, but failed, so he fled and joined Chaos Specter's forces. Not to mention that he'd sold the secret location of Tyrannovalley in exchange for power."  
  
"Secret location? You mean that this Tyrannovalley is hidden?" Ken asked.  
  
"Yes, it is hidden from other digimon. In fact there are many hidden places in this world of ours. However the Tyranno Clan is our ally, and its former leader was a friend of ours, which would be referring to me, Piximon and HolyAngemon. So the three of us knew of the location as well," Gennai answered.  
  
"However words has it that this MetalTyrannomon is currently not in a favourable condition with Chaos Piedmon or Chaos Specter himself," HolyAngemon added.  
  
"Wow," Kari said suddenly. "Seems like lots of things happened when I was on a holiday."  
  
"Tell me about it. I didn't go for a vacation but I missed out as well," Yolei said, glaring at Davis again. "I was busy helping out with my parents' grocery store."  
  
"So what do we do now?" Cody inquired.  
  
As if on cue, suddenly the main screen of the laboratory flickered. Images of Piximon and GrapLeomon then materialized on the screen, both looking gravely worried.  
  
"Gennai, we've received word that Chaos Seadramon and Chaos Piedmon will personally monitor the activity happening at Emeraldo City and Tree Top Village. The two of us are approximately five miles away from Emeraldo City. We've just saw hordes of Chaos Forces digimon going towards Emeraldo City. Apparently they are the followers of Chaos Seadramon." Piximon said.  
  
"That's bad news," Gennai responded. "Chaos Seadramon is an extremely powerful Mega digimon. Don't go to Emeraldo just yet, I don't think two Ultimates can match an enhanced Mega digimon."  
  
"We'll come up there to help you guys," Davis said firmly.  
  
"Don't forget us," D'Archmon added with a grin, indicating to herself and her two male fellow disciples. "We're ready to help out."  
  
"That'll be great. We will focus on freeing Emeraldo City first, it is not advisable for us to split up to attempt freeing Tree Top Village as well," GrapLeomon said. "Our combined power might be enough to drive Chaos Seadramon away."  
  
"I was just about to suggest that," Davis said, his face fell slightly as the transmission was terminated.  
  
"All right, I think before all of you go to Emeraldo City, maybe you should know some facts about where you are going," Gennai suggested, and quickly explained. Emeraldo City was a moderate-sized city, smaller than Asuka or Seiryuu. The city prospered mainly from the fact that there were abundant supplies of emeralds there. All the buildings were made of from the emeralds, and while emeralds were usually turquoise in color, the emeralds there came in different shades of turquoise, blue and green. Rookie and Champion digimon of nature and metal species mainly inhabited the city.  
  
"With Paildramon and Angewomon on our side, we might just be able to win the battle," Gennai finished. "It would be better if T.K. and Patamon are here as well, as MagnaAngemon is very useful when a large number of enemies are concerned but as they are on a holiday now."  
  
"We'll do our best, we'll call T.K. only if it's really necessary," Ken said, and the others agreed. Davis then asked Kari whether she's really up to fight, and the girl simply replied that she missed becoming Angewomon after more than a week of absence.  
  
"What about you, Cody? Don't you have Kendo practice to attend to for the upcoming tournament?" Davis proceeded, looking at the youngest member of the team.  
  
Cody shook his head with a chuckle. "I think I deserve a break once in a while."  
  
"I wouldn't call battling evil digimon as taking a break," Armadillomon quipped cheerfully. "Although I wouldn't miss it for the world as well."  
  
"Same goes for me and Wormmon," Ken said quickly before Davis could ask him. Yolei immediately followed suit.  
  
Together, the Digidestined opened a gateway towards Piximon and GrapLeomon's location. Followed by the three angels, they entered the portal together. Upon arriving, they saw that they were inside a colourful forest with odd-looking lavender trees and gemstones formations every few metres. Piximon was sitting on one of the gemstone formation, while GrapLeomon was standing near the small pixie. The Digidestined noted that GrapLeomon was a lot smaller and shorter than he was during the skirmish at File Island. He was now as tall as Leomon used to be. They exchanged greetings quickly before a loud screech came from the sky.  
  
Looking up, the Digidestined saw a crimson buzzard-like creature flying swiftly towards a direction. The digimon was nothing like they had ever seen before, and luckily it didn't notice the Digidestined and the others. Keeping silence, all of them watched as the strange digimon flew further and further away.  
  
"What was that digimon?" Davis wondered out loud and consulted his Digimon Analyzer. Strangely, the analyzer didn't give out any information.  
  
"Unidentified," the analyzer said simply.  
  
"Unidentified? What do you mean unidentified?" Davis said loudly in confusion.  
  
"Is it broken?" Cody wondered.  
  
Piximon shook his head. "It's not possible, Gennai had taken great care to include each and every digimon in the Digital World. The analyzer database is always up to date and on working condition."  
  
GrapLeomon looked towards the direction where the strange digimon had flown. "Whoever or whatever that creature is, it was flying towards Emeraldo City. It must be one of Chaos Specter's henchmon," he said, with a voice that was noticeably a mix between Leomon's noble voice and Ogremon's devil-may-care's one.  
  
"Anyone remember how the creature looked like?" Davis asked before noticing that Ken was staring towards the sky, his expression pale. "Ken, are you all right?"  
  
Ken nodded slowly. "That creature looked like a giant skeletal bird with a pair of large wings with black feathers. It's body was red and skeletal, and has claws on its feet," he answered while recalling every details about the creature from his memory.  
  
"Wow Ken, we only managed to catch a glimpse of that creature, yet you managed to remember its every detail," Yolei said, awed by the details of Ken's descriptions.  
  
"I remembered every detail about that creature because I've met him before," Ken whispered with a frown. His pale face looked troubled.  
  
"Do you know that creature, Ken?" Davis asked carefully.  
  
"Yes," Ken said grimly. "That creature is non other than Velgamon. I've met him during my early days as the Digimon Emperor. Velgamon is the beast form of a digimon called Duskmon. Duskmon, as I remember, could switch back and forth to Velgamon whenever he wanted." Ken stopped when he noticed the blank expressions from his teammates and the digimon.  
  
"We're kinda lost, Ken," Kari said. "You mean, that creature we just saw is called Velgamon and he could become Duskmon, right?"  
  
Ken nodded his agreement. "Duskmon is a human form of Velgamon, but he looked totally different," he said and motioned for everyone to sit down, while Wormmon sat on his lap. "The memories of my past are still hazy in certain parts, and they came a little at a time. Up until our battle with Daemon six months ago, I was only able to remember the origin of my Dark Spore, which was what Daemon wanted."  
  
"It seems to me that Ken is able to recall more of his memories when he is about to face it in the future," Wormmon quipped.  
  
"I agree with Wormmon. When we saw Velgamon earlier, I suddenly had some flashbacks about him, and how I met him. You see, the technologies I had while I was the Digimon Emperor... if it wasn't for Duskmon I wouldn't be able to easily conquer the eastern quadrant of the East Sector. That time, I only had a vague idea of how big is the Digital World exactly."  
  
"I thought you came up with all of them yourselves? The Control Spires, the Dark Spirals..." Davis said before Ken raised a hand to stop him.  
  
"The Control Spires were Arukenimon's idea, or MaloMyotismon, I'm not so sure about that anymore. The spirals were my only idea actually, as they had vital connections with my Dark Digivice-D3. No, Duskmon gave me something bigger," Ken said quickly before stopping to catch his breath. Then he continued, "He gave me my fortress."  
  
"What?!" all the Digidestined nearly shrieked. "You mean, the flying fortress which we'd destroyed last time?" Davis asked.  
  
"Yes... the same fortress where I made Kimeramon, the same fortress where you discovered the Digi-Egg of Miracles..." Ken's voice trailed off as he took something out from his pocket. It was a small piece of plastic, slightly pink in color and had the emblem that looked like a rose engraved on it. Slightly broken in the edges, and smudged with dirt and soil, all the Digidestined recognized it as the Crest of Kindness.  
  
"The Crest of Kindness!" Davis gasped. "But I thought that it was destroyed when your old fortress exploded?"  
  
"I thought so, too, but somehow it made its way unnoticed back to me. I noticed its return a long time ago, after the battle with MaloMyotismon. Since it was broken I don't think that it would work ever again, so I didn't tell you guys about it. Izzy told me sometime ago that the other crests were used to seal the Digital World from being intruded; making the Crest of Kindness the sole crest around. That's why I've been carrying the crest around, who knows what would happen in the future? This world is certainly full of surprises."  
  
The Digidestined laughed upon Ken's remark, but didn't comment anything. They merely egged Ken to carry on with his story. Davis said that he wanted to know more about Duskmon and Velgamon.  
  
"About Duskmon... For a moment, I was in league with him but other than his name and his fighting style I don't have a clue of who he was, his history or his origins. However by seeing him fight, I can say that his prowess rivals any average Ultimate digimon. Velgamon is supposed to be a stronger mode, but Duskmon rarely switched to his bestial mode that time."  
  
"If he was that powerful, why did he join forces with you?" Cody asked, his eyes narrowed a little showing that he was a little skeptic, but needless to say he believed what Ken was telling.  
  
"He needed me to enter a cave to retrieve a scroll which had a... prophecy... written on it," Ken replied slowly, trying to recall more details. "The prophecy... of time. He couldn't enter the cave as it was protected by an ancient power, which prohibits those who were tainted with darkness to enter. I don't know how I managed to enter it without harm, as Duskmon told me that any evil being that dares cross the entrance would simply be destroyed by the ancient power. Somehow, I wasn't harmed."  
  
"That simply meant that you were not evil," Yolei commented with a smile.  
  
Ken chuckled appreciatively upon Yolei's comment. Wormmon then decided to speak up his opinion. "Ken was eight at the time, and he was too young. That was why the cave didn't destroy him. Had Ken been older that time, the cave would..." Wormmon gulped upon thinking about the possibility.  
  
"I don't want to even think about that," Ken said, scowling. His expression wasn't pale anymore, and looked just like his usual composed self. "By retrieving the scroll, Duskmon gave me the fortress and left me be. However I didn't use the fortress until I was much older and grew accustomed with the sudden enhancements from the spore."  
  
Ken then got up, and looked determined. "If Velgamon is heading to Emeraldo City then I can get more answers to my questions if I face him. I'm ready."  
  
"Then let's do it," Davis said. 

* * *

**DTV** – Thanks for reviewing. I can't say much about your inquiries, but all will be explained later in this fic, and in The Legends of the Digidestined series. About the plural of digimon issue, it's my bad actually; I'm so used to writing it as 'digimons'. I'll try to avoid this mistake in future. Your theories of Chaos Wargreymon's history... well, Kari won't know it until the end of the series, so I can't comment about it right now as the story still has a long way to go. Thanks again.  
  
**Gerjo** – Thanks for the review. Chaos Wargreymon is becoming my favorite character too, not to mention he is a key character in this story. Watch out for him, things are going to be more interesting for him. And about Chaos Specter, yes, there's a lot more to him than meets the eye.  
  
**Veemon** – Yep, it is a mistake on my behalf. Thanks for telling me about it.  
  
**Psychorabbit** – Thanks for your review. About the team not being together all the time, actually it's to give me an opportunity to focus on one character at a time. For the past few chapters I've isolated Davis for a while to write more about him, it is similar to what I did to Kari some time ago. 


	21. Corruption of the Crest

**_VENGEANCE_**

****

****

**_Chapter 20 – Corruption of the Crest_**

****

****

**_=============================================_**

****

****

Velgamon flew with great speed straight towards Emeraldo City without noticing that the Digidestined had caught sight on him. His attention was focused mainly on making sure that the city wouldn't fall out from his power. He knew that the Digidestined would come over to the city, and wanted to unveil himself for the first time in front of them.

"If you want things done right, you'll have to do it yourself," Velgamon muttered slowly. "Besides, maybe I should look forward on meeting a certain old friend," he continued, and grinned mentally (as it would be impossible for him to do so physically, given his current buzzard-like state).

"Ken Ichijouji," he said, eyes glinting evilly. "It's been a long time."

He landed expertly several meters from the main entrance of Emeraldo City, which he noted with satisfaction, was guarded by a Mekanorimon and a Cyclonemon. Mekanorimon isn't that powerful, but Cyclonemon was strong for a Champion.

His body began to glow with red lights, and Velgamon transformed back into Chaos Specter. This time however, there was an addition to his usual black and silver garment. His shoulders, chest and back were now protected with silver chest armor. He was holding the cobra staff that he used earlier in his battle with Pharaohmon. Chaos Specter then walked into the city, and found Chaos Seadramon with a troop of red-eyed Mekanorimon and three Blossomon.

The Mekanorimon were monitoring a group of Golemon and Monochromon pulling a cart full of emeralds towards where Chaos Seadramon was. At there itself there was already a meter-high pile of emerald of different shapes and colors.

"Master," Chaos Seadramon began politely. "I've found out that the emeralds from this city can be used as a great source of fuel for the Velvet Claw. They generate a strange power, and the digimon here each use only a small one meter square cubical emerald to generate enough power for the lights in their houses."

Chaos Specter picked an emerald and studied it closely. "Very strange," he said slowly. "I've yet to see these kinds of emeralds from my travels between dimensions. Good work, Chaos Seadramon. With this abundant source of power we won't have to worry about Velvet Claw to run out of power. Take them all."

After giving out the command, Chaos Specter decided to have a look around.

On a corner of Emeraldo City, one Mekanorimon was seen harassing a group of Palmon and Kokuwamon. A Guardromon was there, defending the two Rookie digimon but another two Mekanorimon then stepped on his way and restrained the Guardromon, who looked like he was already injured, as there were scorch and scratch marks on his body. Despite his condition, the Guardromon was undaunted and was struggling to break free from the Mekanorimon's holds.

Most digimon of Emeraldo stayed in their houses, afraid to come out from the sanctuary of their homes. Chaos Specter snickered silently and looked up as a swarm of Flymon passed by. They were also under his command, and Chaos Specter gave them a nod of approval as they bowed their heads.

The Digidestined, accompanied by their digimon, the three angels, Piximon and GrapLeomon, walked in silence as they were approaching Emeraldo City. Seeing that a Mekanorimon and a Cyclonemon guarded the city, the Digidestined prepared to digivolve their digimon partners before D'Archmon stopped them.

"Wait," she said, raising both hands. "Let us fight them, you need to save your energy to fight the stronger opponents inside."

Angemon and Piddomon both raised their staffs and nodded. "We'll take care of them easily," Angemon assured. "The Cyclonemon might take a while, though."

"Well, get going now," Piximon said.

The angels nodded and flew past the others and straight towards the entrance while the others watched silently from inside the woods. Upon seeing the angels, Mekanorimon and Cyclonemon quickly charged forward.

D'Archmon took out her sword, and cried out, "**_La Pucelle_**!!" Her sword glimmered with amber lights, and sent out sparks of fireworks towards Mekanorimon. The attack managed to short-circuit Mekanorimon and D'Archmon sprung forward, preparing to deliver a final blow to delete Mekanorimon once and for all.

Both her palms emitted out radiant pink lights, and D'Archmon then thrust both palms forward with full force.

"**_Battement D'Amor_**!!" she summoned, and immediately the place where D'Archmon had struck Mekanorimon exploded, leaving a hole on Mekanorimon's metallic body. D'Archmon then took a few steps backwards as Mekanorimon combusted into data particles.

Angemon and Piddomon teamed up to fight on the stronger and bigger Cyclonemon. Cyclonemon had a head start when it attacked Piddomon with its signature attack. Piddomon had retaliated with his own Apollo Tornado, and the attacks cancelled each other out. Angemon then delivered the Hand of Fate attack straight towards Cyclonemon's body.

"**_Fire Feathers_**!!" Piddomon joined in, sending fiery feathers that darted in a manner that befit those of arrows towards Cyclonemon. Their attacks hit Cyclonemon, but Cyclonemon didn't show any signs of being deleted. Instead, he let out an ear-splitting roar and his body glowed crimson. The crimson aura energized from his body seemed to increase his power. Cyclonemon's eyes glinted maliciously and his expression looked more menacing than before.

"You're weak!!" Cyclonemon bellowed and charged towards the two angels. Both angels however flew away, unharmed. "You're no match for me!"

"Oh yeah? Well, we'll see about that!" Angemon said hotly and brought forth his staff. Piddomon followed suit. Both angels then spun their staffs with both their hands, energizing them with holy powers. Strong winds formed from the spinning staffs, which then emitted dazzling blue, violet and white lights.

"Now!!" Piddomon yelled, and posed as if he was about to throw a boomerang.

"Behold, Cyclonemon! **_Angel Rod_**!!" Angemon shouted, and threw his staff towards Cyclonemon. The staff spun swiftly and with outstanding speed before Piddomon's own staff joined it. Both staffs then joined with each other, forming an X-shaped spinning boomerang, which charged towards Cyclonemon. With a blink of the eye, it then cut through Cyclonemon before changing back to its original states. Cyclonemon was defeated.

"That was amazing!!" the Digidestined exclaimed as they came out from their hiding places. "You guys are really great."

"Thank you," Piddomon said, with a slight bow.

"I wish I can do something like that," Armadillomon said in awe.

"I guess being HolyAngemon's disciples must have its plus points," Gatomon said with a slight shrug.

Piximon cleared his throat. "We can celebrate later, my friends. But now, we have something else to do. Let's hope that we can do this safely, unharmed, and return to Asuka by the end of the day."

"I certainly hope so," Yolei agreed.

Ken knitted his eyebrows, frowning. "I wonder if Velgamon's waiting for all of us. I think it's really weird for him to show up after all this time."

"Do you think this Velgamon might be working with that Chaos Specter?" Davis asked. "The strangest thing that came to me is that… does it ever occur to any of you guys that we've never seen this Chaos Specter? Not even once?"

"If you ask me, I think he's too chicken to show up," Veemon said nonchalantly.

"I agree with you, Davis," Kari said, with Yolei and Cody mouthing their agreements as well. Ken however looked lost in thoughts.

"The Chaos Generals were just too strong the last time we met them," Yolei said with a shudder. "I hate to think how strong is Chaos Specter actually is. Maybe it's better that we do not meet him at all."

"If that's the case, sorry to disappoint you," a voice interrupted them with a tone that was polite, but followed by a sinister snicker. The Digidestined and the digimon were surprised to see an armored raven-haired young man with blazing green eyes staring towards them. His garments were similar to those worn by Myotismon, but with black and silver coloring.

"Finally we get to meet each other, Digidestined," the young man said, his voice increasing. His tone however was cold and uninviting, and anger could be seen in his eyes. "I've never thought that a bunch of kids such as the likes of you could cause me too much trouble."

"Who are you?" Davis asked boldly.

"I am none other than Chaos Specter," the man said calmly.

The Digidestined gasped in surprise after hearing the confession. Never would they have thought that Chaos Specter was a human. Or at least, had the appearance of a human. They stood still, unsure of what to do as Chaos Specter glared towards all of them, assessing the strength of his adversaries.

Chaos Specter then switched his attention towards Ken.

"Ah, my young friend, Ken. We meet again," he said, smiling coldly. "Although I have to say that I've been expecting you. It's been so long since we've seen each other."

Ken's eyes shot up as something occurred to him. Chaos Specter's voice was so familiar to him. The resemblance was uncanny.

"It's you," Ken said slowly.

"I don't blame you for not remembering me, Ken," Chaos Specter said. "You were too young that time. Too naïve. Milleniummon's Dark Spore didn't affect you that much at that time."

"You were Duskmon when we met three years ago," Ken said flatly, running his hand subconsciously towards the back of his neck.

"Oh yes, that, too," Chaos Specter agreed. "I see that your memories are all coming back now, Ken. Yes, don't be too surprised. I know a lot of things happening here in this world. I know you've lost your partner once, and I…"

"Quiet!!" Ken screamed and closed both his ears with his hands. "Shut up!!" His knees buckled involuntarily and Ken knelt onto the grounds.

"So you still harbor that feeling of guilt inside you, Ken," Chaos Specter said with a sinister smile. "How touching. I'm sure Wormmon appreciates that."

"That's enough!" Davis yelled. "If you're Chaos Specter, and you're also that buzzard we saw just now then that makes you our enemy. Diginizer Energize!!"

* * *

From the sky, partially hidden by the clouds, a digimon was watching the whole ordeal happening inside Emeraldo City unnoticed. Wearing purple body armor, gloves and boots on top of a black catsuit, the digimon was distinctively a female one, judging by her flowing white hair, which was tied into two. A purple mask depicting that of a fox's head covered her feminine facial features.The digimon was none other than Kuzuhamon, the guardian of the Ice Lake of the Kulon Mines. She had come all the way from the North Sector in pursuit of Chaos Wargreymon, wanting to get the Zeed Crystal back.

"Chaos Specter," Kuzuhamon said slowly, although from the sky it was impossible for anyone to hear her. "So he's Chaos Wargreymon's master. By now he must have the Zeed Crystal, I'm sure Chaos Wargreymon has given him the crystal."

Averting her attention towards a group of children accompanied by a group of digimon, clearly being Chaos Specter's antagonists, Kuzuhamon watched as two of the children merged with two digimon, forming Paildramon and Angewomon.

"They must be the newest batch of Digidestined," Kuzuhamon said to herself. "It has been too long since I've met the first batch, I don't even remember how long. My meeting with them was short, but they had set me to the right path."

Kuzuhamon then disappeared out of sight from the clouds, and appeared again on too of the tallest branch of the tallest tree of the woods near the entrance of Emeraldo City. From there she could see the Digidestined even closer.

"Chaos Wargreymon is very strong himself, his master must have unimaginable powers," Kuzuhamon said to herself. "I must help them, and perhaps they will help me get back the Zeed Crystal. But I will wait first, and intervene when the time is right."

* * *

Chaos Specter found himself surrounded by his enemies in every way possible. From the air, Angewomon and the three angels hovered over him while Paildramon, Stingmon, Aquilamon, Ankylomon, Piximon and GrapLeomon cornered him on the grounds. Assessing his opponents' strength, Chaos Specter remained calm. He didn't make any motion to run, which was unnerving, considering that he was only a human. He merely fixed his eyes on his opponents, and remained silent.

"What should we do?" Aquilamon asked. "Should we make the first move?"

"No, wait," Angewomon said, pointing towards Chaos Specter. "Look!"

Chaos Specter was waving his cobra staff over the air. The eyes of the cobra idol on the staff shone with red lights, and a strange hissing sound was heard. Purple mists erupted from the eyes, and Chaos Specter snickered.

"Let's see whether you can resist the mist from my cobra staff, digimon! It's poisonous," Chaos Specter said with a smile as the mist spread out fast. "There's no use trying to run, once you inhale the mist you will be poisoned, and possibly paralyzed. It's all depending on your tolerance against poison."

Alarmed, the digimon tried to avoid the mist. Aquilamon flapped his wings to send the mist away from him, and the Digidestined who were standing near him. Ankylomon had no means of defending himself, and had to run. However his massive size slowed him down and he accidentally inhaled the mist. Instantly he felt weak and collapsed on the grounds, unconscious but remained in his Champion form.

"No! Ankylomon!" Cody cried.

"This is serious," Angewomon said as GrapLeomon was paralyzed by the mist as well, and had fallen over to his knees. Angewomon then fired the Heaven's Charm attack towards the mist. The attack had neutralized some of the mist, but Chaos Specter waved his staff again and more mist came out from the cobra's eyes. Soon, the pink holy energy died out and Angewomon had to shield herself with her wings and the pink aura that was surrounding her to stop her from inhaling the mist. She was unharmed, but the disciples of HolyAngemon were not that lucky. They had inhaled the poisonous mist as well and suffered the same fate as Ankylomon.

"We have to destroy the staff!" Paildramon said to Stingmon. Both of them were tolerant to poison, Stingmon especially, since he was poisonous himself. Paildramon was able to resist the poison due to the data of Stingmon within him.

"Let's move in to attack his staff!" Stingmon said, and darted forward.

"I'm with you," Paildramon said. He took both guns forward and launched the Desperado Blaster attack towards Chaos Specter. Stingmon followed up with his Spiking Strike attack.

Chaos Specter did not anticipate the bold moves from Paildramon and Stingmon, and was flustered even more when Angewomon struck the staff away from him successfully with a well-aimed Celestial Arrow. Aquilamon and Piximon then fired their attacks towards the staff, and broken the eyes of the cobra. Instantly the mists disappeared, but the casualties of the mist remained down for the count.

"Clever," Chaos Specter said without a hint of anger. "But that was just starters."

Closing his eyes, Chaos Specter summoned the power of darkness within him. Black armors began to form around his body; his shoulder-length black hair elongated and turned into light blonde. His height increased as a black helmet that only revealed his mouth and eyes covered his face. Red blades emerged from the gruesome skeletons that covered his hand. Chaos Specter's new look gave him the facade of a warrior of darkness.

"Duskmon," Ken said slowly.

Yolei and Cody looked towards each other, recalling back what Ken had related to them earlier about his encounter with Duskmon. They winced slightly upon seeing Duskmon.

"He's… hideous!!" Yolei cried, unable to restrain herself.

"Yolei!" Cody hissed. "He'll hear you."

Ken shuddered as past memories flashed back in his minds, one after another. It was about his first encounter with Duskmon, whom he now knew was also Chaos Specter, the villain he was facing now.

_"What if I failed to retrieve the prophecy?"_

_"Take this vial with you. You can overcome any digimon that cross your path."_

_"After I retrieve the prophecy… will you help me with the pain on my neck?"_

_"Absolutely."_

"What do you want from us?" Ken asked angrily. "What do you hope to achieve by capturing the four Harmonious Ones? What plan do you have in mind?"

"That's a lot of questions, wielder of Kindness," Duskmon replied, and laughed. "But in order not to disappoint you I will answer them. Do you recall our first meeting, Ken? I'm sure you'll find all your answers by doing so."

Ken frowned. "I can't recall some of my past memories."

"Is that so? Well this is interesting, but that's just too bad," Duskmon said mockingly.

"What _are_ you?" Paildramon inquired. "Are you digimon, or human?"

"I'm digimon, and I am also human," Duskmon answered. "Just like you, Paildramon. The only difference is that I am what I am, I do not merge with digimon like you, I become a digimon! Now, enough talking, I've waited too long to meet all of you, but apparently one of you is missing. But no matter, it'll be easier for me to finish all of you."

Duskmon then energized the crimson blades on his hand and charged towards the nearest digimon, who so happened to be Piximon. The attack was uncalled upon, Piximon had no way of knowing he was about to be attacked. With one swipe of the blade, Duskmon cut Piximon's staff in half and sent the little pink pixie flying.

"Join your fallen friends, Piximon!" Duskmon said, roaring with laughter that sounded pure evil. Piximon was about to crash on top of the unconscious GrapLeomon when suddenly GrapLeomon jumped over to retrieve the fallen pixie.

Duskmon was appalled slightly. "You're supposed to be unconscious! Didn't you inhale the mist earlier?"

GrapLeomon placed Piximon, who was stunned by the blades, near the three unconscious angels and snickered when he faced Duskmon.

"I'm quite crafty when it comes to battle, you buffoon!!" GrapLeomon said, in Ogremon's manner. "I only pretended to be affected by the mist. The truth is I held my breath when the mist surrounded me. Now… **_Lion Beast Killing Wave_**!!" GrapLeomon sent out his mighty attack towards Duskmon and hit Duskmon point-blanc.

"How dare you!!" Duskmon shouted furiously. The force from GrapLeomon's attack had shattered his helmet, revealing a grotesque humanly face, which did not resemble Chaos Specter's handsome face any bit. He was about to charge towards the man-lion when suddenly two attacks hit him from behind.

"Bulls-eye, baby!!" Paildramon exclaimed, glancing towards Angewomon. "Nice arrow shot, Angewomon!"

Gritting his teeth angrily, Duskmon knew that he was facing against three Ultimates that were stronger than average. One was DNA Digivolved, and the other two were Transdigivolved digimon. One on one, he was stronger but he was outmatched if they decided to attack him together.

"I'll deal with the Digidestined later. First I'll take care of that arrogant GrapLeomon. He'll pay for insulting and fooling me," Duskmon muttered, and to the good guys' astonishment he suddenly disappeared out of sight.

"Hey, where did he go?" Paildramon asked around.

"Be careful, he might be around here. Maybe he's planning for a sneak attack," Angewomon warned.

Stingmon and Aquilamon hovered close towards the unconscious Ankylomon, not wanting their fallen friend to be hurt.

"I got an idea," Stingmon said, and raised the antennae on his head upwards. Looking around alertly, Stingmon continued, "Perhaps I can use my antennae to look for Duskmon. Wait, I think I… oh no!! Look out, GrapLeomon!!" he shouted, pointing out towards GrapLeomon.

Bewildered, the others looked towards GrapLeomon when suddenly Duskmon materialized out of nowhere only a few meters away from the back of GrapLeomon. Two rays of intense laser beam shot out from Duskmon's eyes and hit GrapLeomon on the chest, causing GrapLeomon to be stunned. Dropping down on his knees, GrapLeomon struggled to get up when Duskmon fired again the lasers from his eyes without mercy straight towards GrapLeomon's chest again. The armor protecting GrapLeomon's body smashed to pieces and he was severely hurt.

Duskmon walked briskly towards the severely hurt GrapLeomon. His face contorted into an evil sneer.

"I must say, GrapLeomon, I've never been fooled before. You're the only one that had managed to do so," Duskmon said. "A trick worthy of a prize, and here's your PRIZE!!" Duskmon raised his sword high, preparing to slash the defenseless GrapLeomon and sending him to his doom.

"**_Celestial Arrow_**!!" Angewomon attacked quickly, and her arrow hit Duskmon's blade. However it wasn't strong enough to destroy it.

"Nice try, little girl," Duskmon said, and shot out multiple lasers towards Angewomon. Angewomon managed to evade the first laser, but as a series of lasers were shot towards her at the same time, she wasn't able to defend herself and the blazing lasers blasted her wings. The lasers burnt her wings and Angewomon found herself losing balance. She began to fall, but was caught by Paildramon.

"I'll teach you to mess with Kari!" Paildramon cried angrily. With one hand holding Angewomon, Paildramon tossed out a gun on his free hand and began firing towards Duskmon madly.

"Such gallantry," Duskmon mocked, and countered all the attacks with his lasers. He then shot out more lasers towards Paildramon and shattered a portion of Paildramon's thick armor. Turning over to finish off GrapLeomon, Duskmon was shocked to see that the lion-man was gone!

"What?!" he bellowed angrily, but then a large shadow passed over him. Duskmon saw the shadow on the ground, and looked up. He saw Stingmon, carrying GrapLeomon away from him.

"Not so fast!" Duskmon shouted, and fired the atrocious eye-lasers towards Stingmon. The lasers burned the insect warrior's wings, and both Stingmon and GrapLeomon crashed onto the ground.

"Stingmon! No!!" Ken cried, worried over the fate of his partner. Looking around, he saw that both Paildramon and Angewomon were badly hurt. Ankylomon, Piximon and the three angels were still knocked out, and Aquilamon was defending them. Ken shuddered, realizing that Duskmon had managed to defeat them all.

Without him noticing, something was glowing inside the pockets of his trousers. Faint violet lights came out from the pocket.

Duskmon glanced towards Ken. "Why Ken, I almost forgot that Stingmon is your partner digimon!" he said, and laughed. He walked over towards where Stingmon and GrapLeomon were lying, and kicked GrapLeomon away forcefully. Then, he averted his attention towards Stingmon, and kicked him in the same manner he did to GrapLeomon. Next, he fired the lasers again towards Stingmon, hitting him on the back. Stingmon let out an excruciating cry of extreme pain.

"No! Stingmon!!" both Paildramon and Angewomon cried. Aquilamon was heard shouting as well, but he couldn't abandon the fallen digimon and the Digidestined he was protecting.

Ken was shaking. Yolei and Cody were trying to calm him down, but Ken was too furious towards Duskmon for hurting Stingmon and the other digimon.

"Duskmon!!" he shouted. "Leave my partner alone!!"

Brilliant violet lights erupted from Ken's trousers pocket; it was the broken Crest of Kindness. The symbol of the flower, despite the cracks, was shining brightly. Then, something strange happened. The Crest of Kindness turned black, emitting strange dark purple lights. Ken however was too angry that he didn't notice the bizarre event that was happening; his attention was fixed solely towards the safety of his partner. Duskmon was too busy trying to finish off Stingmon to notice. Only Yolei, Cody and Aquilamon noticed it. At the same time, dark clouds materialized on top of the city, and lightning flashed dangerously.

"Leave Stingmon alone!!" Ken cried angrily, and the Crest of Kindness shot out dark energy beam towards Stingmon. The thunders and lightning intensified as dark purple lights enveloped Stingmon who was lying on the grounds, his face facing the earth. Duskmon's right foot was on top of his back, restraining him from moving.

Stingmon glowed with the darkest shades of purple, which perplexed Duskmon. As Stingmon began to grow in size, Duskmon had to jump away for his safety. Stingmon roared loudly, feeling more and more energized by the dark lights.

Ken finally realized what was happening; his anger had somehow triggered the Crest of Kindness, which had yet to be activated. However, at the same time his rage had corrupted the crest, causing Stingmon to lead a flawed digivolution process. Ken was unsure whether the fact that the crest was broken had anything to do with it as he helplessly watched his partner digivolving.

**_"Stingmon, Dark Digivolve to…"_**

* * *

Far from the commotion happening at Emeraldo City, a menacing digimon was rampaging inside the forests of the southern quadrant of the East Sector. Inside the Kicking Forest, an earsplitting angry roar was heard followed by multiple cries of defeat. Then, the forest was silent again and faint lights came from the site where the roar and the cries were heard. After a few moments the lights intensified and the source of the lights became apparent; the forest was set afire. Blazes of red and yellow fire burned the lush greenery of the trees of the forests, sending hordes of digimon residing inside the forest away. An evil laughter echoed the entire burning forest, and a hulking shadow of the digimon responsible for the entire event stepped out from the flames.

"Data," Chaosdramon said, scanning around hungrily in hopes of finding more digimon to feed on. "More data for more power!"

Catching sight of a trio of Goblimon running away from the forests, Chaosdramon aimed his cannon silently. The helpless Rookies didn't know what were coming for them as Chaosdramon mercilessly shot them from the back, and fed on their data. His body glowed temporarily before returning back to their original red color. As he adjusted himself to the new data inside his body, Chaosdramon reflected back to events happening a few days ago leading into this event.

After his defeat to Paildramon at Harmona Town, MetalTyrannomon ran without stop, all the while vowing to have revenge for the humiliation he had suffered. Without drawing any attention to him, he had attacked unsuspecting digimon along his way, and took their data for his own in order to sustain his Mega form. For days, he had fed on digimon of all levels except for a Mega. His big chance came when he encountered a slightly weak Ultimate digimon, Meteormon. MetalTyrannomon instantly engaged Meteormon in a battle, and to his surprise Meteormon gave him a good fight. However, owing to the powers he'd gotten by joining the Chaos Force, MetalTyrannomon had the upper hand. He defeated Meteormon and downloaded his data, and digivolved permanently into Chaosdramon again. Plotting to attack Tyrannovalley before Chaos Specter, Chaosdramon then headed back to his clan, whom he had betrayed. Vowing to take over the position as a ruler of the Tyranno Clan, Chaosdramon grabbed any chance for him to increase his power and attacked every digimon he'd caught sight on.

The fire he had set ablaze onto the forest instantly drew the attentions of two Pteramon who were flying nearby. These Armor digimon served the Tyranno Clan, which was a clan of dinosaur-based digimon. They were patrolling on air, and easily caught sight of the fire and Chaosdramon.

"The rumors are true! That traitorous MetalTyrannomon has digivolved!" one Pteramon squawked.

"We have to report this to MasterTyrannomon," the other one said.

Quickly the pteranodon digimon flew back to Tyrannovalley, which was located at the farthest end of the Kicking Forest. Hidden by a huge amount of trees, fogs and rocky mountains, the valley was perfectly out of sight. Situated behind the mountains, there were only two ways to reach the valley. One was by flying over the mountains, and the other option was by using the secret tunnel. The secret tunnel was located somewhere at the foot of the mountains. Being airborne digimon, the Pteramon opted to fly over the mountains and navigated themselves carefully inside the thick fogs. The fogs had caused a few accidents among digimon who couldn't see their way and hit the peak of the mountains.

The Pteramon safely arrived at the gate of Tyrannovalley, which was constructed on the bare grounds of the valley. Massive animal bones were used as walls aside from the huge rocks. It was believed that an unbelievably huge SkullMammothmon had lived during the ancient times of the Digital World. It lived for thousands of years, and when it died, instead of dissolving into data particles like all digimon, SkullMammothmon decomposed in a manner like the animals of Earth. The founder of Tyrannovalley and the first ruler of the Tyranno Clan, who was an aged MasterTyrannomon, then used the large bones to assemble the valley a few millennia after the death of SkullMammothmon.

A Triceramon greeted the Pteramon, followed by two Allomon.

"What's wrong?" Triceramon began, noting the frantic behavior of the Pteramon.

"We have to see MasterTyrannomon now," the Pteramon chorused. "The traitor has returned, and he's now a Mega!"

Triceramon nodded, and ordered the Allomon to guard the gate while he took the Pteramon to see their ruler. They took a series of mazes, all constructed from the bones of one digimon (hard as it may be to believe). Tyrannovalley was a small valley, but considering that it was made from the bones of a digimon, it was significantly large. It seemed like they were walking inside the rib bones of the digimon until they reached a platform, which was created using a huge pillar of grey stone. Behind the platform was the skull of the deceased SkullMammothmon, without its tusks. MasterTyrannomon was standing on the platform, his eyes glowing intelligently, showing his wisdom.

Immediately, the Pteramon reported about Chaosdramon coming over to the valley. All the while, MasterTyrannomon listened intently without interrupting the Pteramon. Then, he nodded and sighed heavily.

"I have to say that I've expected him to return," MasterTyrannomon said solemnly. "But I've never thought that he's able to become a Mega. He was vying for the position as ruler with me for a long time, when we were both nominated as the heir to our late master's power. MetalTyrannomon however was greedy, wanting the power for himself instead of using it for the good of our small clan. Thus the master chose me before he was deleted due to old age."

"None of us would have chosen him," a Pteramon spoke up. "You are our benevolent leader, master."

Triceramon nodded. "I've watched the two of you progress, master. You have shown great qualities as a leader since you were a Rookie, while MetalTyrannomon didn't. He was a bully to his peers, and enjoyed bossing around those who were weaker than him. I, as the advisor of the leader of the clan, have served our late master and I will continue serve you."

MasterTyrannomon's expression lifted. "I'm so much younger than any of you," he said towards Triceramon and the Pteramon. "But I'm afraid that MetalTyrannomon will cause the unnecessary deletion of the members of our clan. He's now Chaosdramon, a Mega, and he's far stronger than any of us. It is me he wants to fight, and he wants the position as the ruler of our clan."

"You will not surrender, master," Triceramon said sternly. "We will not have another master other than you, and we won't have Chaosdramon as our leader."

"I have to stop him from entering our valley," MasterTyrannomon said thoughtfully. "Our late master had wanted me to protect this valley and the Ivory Citadel as well. A close friend of our late master lives there alone all by herself, and the citadel is considered as a part of our valley."

"Yes, I remember the master used to meditate there before he gave the place for the lady friend of his to live in. It was said that she saved him in a battle, and as a token of gratitude the master granted her the Ivory Citadel as she was looking for a place to stay. She was permitted to use the Ivory Citadel in any way she saw fit. Under her care the citadel and the lands surrounding it became more and more beautiful. However none of us knew her identity, she was aloof and wished not to be disturbed by anyone. So our late master ordered that none of us were to go there," Triceramon said.

"That is true. So we must make sure that Chaosdramon will never get through this valley, and will not take over our clan," MasterTyrannomon responded. "I only wish that the lady digimon would help us as well. From what I've heard from the master, she is a Mega digimon, which would increase our chance in defeating Chaosdramon."

Triceramon voiced his agreement. "I agree, but she is not a part of our clan, so we must not rely on her, master. She may be a friend of our late master, but she has no ties with us. Thus we must not rely on her but try our best to defend our clan."

"You are right," MasterTyrannomon said. "Send everyone to defend the gate. We must be ready for the traitor's arrival!"


	22. The Trial of Kindness, part I

**_VENGEANCE_**

****

****

**_Chapter 21 – The Trial of Kindness, Part I_**

****

****

**_=============================================_**

****

****

_**"Stingmon, Dark Digivolve to…"**_

Ken watched in a feeling of dreadfulness as Stingmon grew larger in size, regretting for letting his anger took control over him. Somehow his anger had energized the Crest of Kindness, which he thought was already dysfunctional. He could feel the darkness of the energy that was energizing Stingmon, as the insectoid warrior grew a pincer on the right hand, while a cannon materialized on the left. His original green armor turned into blood red, with black lines and markings. His helmet remained almost the same, except for the color, which was similar to the armor. Long, white hair flowed out from the helmet, and a pair of sharp horns took over the place of the antennae. The new form Stingmon took on looked devilish and frightening, what more with the sharp, red claws extended from each foot. He was as tall as Paildramon, and looked like an evil version of him in some sort of way.The wings remained similar to what they looked like before. In Stingmon place was now a digimon who exuded an aura of evil and hatred, roaring angrily as he finished the dark-digivolution process.

_**"Deathbeemon!!"**_

"No…" Ken whimpered, covering his face with his hands to try getting out the grotesque image of Deathbeemon out of his head. "I can't believe I did this to Stingmon! No!" He started sobbing, and was restrained by Yolei and Cody.

"Ken, please get a hold of yourself!" Cody said, holding firm to Ken's hands.

"It's not your fault! Don't blame yourself," Yolei said, placing a strong grasp on Ken's shoulders.

Duskmon however was watching the whole event with delight. "So, the former emperor still has a lot of darkness inside of him! No wonder his partner digimon dark digivolved." He turned to address Deathbeemon, but to his surprise the dark-digivolved digimon was looming towards him with his cannon thrusted towards him, ready to attack.

"**_Death Cannon_**!!" Deathbeemon yelled. A burst of yellow fireballs emerged from the cannon, shooting Duskmon at close range. This caused a huge explosion, and for a while the Digidestined thought that Duskmon was destroyed. Thick smokes resulted from the explosion, and suddenly a figure walked out from the smokes. It was indeed Duskmon, badly hurt with his black armors came undone at various places. He was calm, albeit bleeding all over.

Duskmon wiped the blood that was trailing down his chin. Snickering, he leapt up in mid-air and shouted loudly as he undergone a transformation. In a blazing red aura, Duskmon's humanoid figure elongated. His hands changed into a giant pair of wings, his face contorted as a buzzard's beak sprouted from his mouth, and his legs changed into clawed feet. Duskmon was changing into Velgamon, his stronger beastial form.

Velgamon squawked stridently, eyes staring angrily towards Deathbeemon. Deathbeemon then jumped into the air, and the two flying digimon battled each other in the air. Screams and explosions followed one after another as Velgamon and Deathbeemon exchanged blows. Both of them were evenly matched, and both moved in towards each other with amazing speed. The only thing the others saw was blurs of red and black darting all over the sky above them.

"Deathbeemon! Don't fight him, you'll get hurt!" Ken pleaded, but it was no use, as Deathbeemon wasn't listening. Either he was too engrossed in the fight or the fact that he was a corrupted digimon, Ken wasn't sure. However, Deathbeemon was still Ken's partner, and Ken didn't want to lose his partner again. He knew that Velgamon was a formidable opponent, although he hadn't chance to watch it with his own eyes how powerful Velgamon really was.

"What do we do now?" Angewomon wondered, watching the battle while trying to regain her energy. "It's like watching history repeats itself all over again. Tai has done it before, when he tried forcing Greymon to digivolve. He changed into SkullGreymon instead of MetalGreymon. Could Deathbeemon be a corrupted digivolution form of Stingmon?"

"Stingmon is a kind digimon," Paildramon asserted. "He would never let harm come to his friends. And right now, he's fighting that bird-thing for us. I don't know whether he's the real deal, or not."

_"Ken wants Deathbeemon to stop fighting,"_ Gatomon said. _"Maybe we can do something about it. Kari, you can freeze both Deathbeemon and Velgamon in order to stop them the same way I did years ago during our confrontation with Myotismon!"_

Angewomon did what she was told, and spread her arms wide. The pink aura glowing around her glimmered brilliantly, and then waves of pink energy particles were released towards the battling opponents. As the result, both Deathbeemon and Velgamon were frozen momentarily on the sky. They however struggled to break free from the stasis. Paildramon jumped towards the sky and thrust both of his blasters forward, planning to beat Velgamon and steer Deathbeemon away to safety.

However, when Deathbeemon bellowed an earth-shaking roar, he broke free from Angewomon's power and slapped Paildramon away. Turning his attention towards Paildramon instead of Velgamon, the crazed Deathbeemon raised his pincer and charged towards the dragon-man digimon. Snapping the pincer repeatedly, Deathbeemon looked like he wanted to finish off Paildramon. Paildramon had no choice but to retaliate by defending himself with the energy blades coming out from his wrist armors.

"Deathbeemon, snap out of it!" he cried, hesitating to attack in fear of hurting Deathbeemon. "Don't make me attack you!"

"Fight back, if you can!" Deathbeemon hissed menacingly, which shocked Paildramon. The voice that came out from Deathbeemon didn't resemble Stingmon any bit. It sounded wicked and frightening. "Fight back! Or I'll hurt your pretty friend!"

"Oh no, you don't!" Paildramon cried and flew backwards, thrusting both blasters forward. "I'm sorry, buddy but you leave me with no choice. **_Desperado Blaster_**!" Deathbeemon was hit by the attack, but wasn't injured and didn't look like he was going to attack Paildramon. Instead, he turned his attention towards Angewomon, who was concentrating on not letting Velgamon escape her freezing effect. She was unaware that she was in danger, and when she did hear Paildramon's cry of warning it was already too late. Angewomon was struck by Deathbeemon's attack and lost control over Velgamon. The giant buzzard then kicked Angewomon away, causing the lady angel to de-digivolve back into an unconscious and injured Kari and Gatomon.

"No!!" Paildramon shouted angrily and darted forward to retrieve his fallen friends. Knowing that Kari and Gatomon were in danger if he remained mid-air, Paildramon quickly landed on the grounds and laid his friends gently beside the other unconscious digimon. Aquilamon wanted to join in the fight, but Paildramon stopped him.

"If something happens to me, then you're the only one around that can defend the Digidestined and the fallen digimon," he said. Aquilamon nodded and spread his wings wide, protecting the Digidestined and digimon beneath him.

"Take care, Paildramon," Aquilamon said. "Don't worry, I'll protect them."

"Paildramon…" Ken began. "Please save my partner."

"I will, don't worry," Paildramon assured him. "I think we're gonna need T.K. and Patamon, I don't think I can stand alone much longer."

"I'll contact them," Yolei offered.

Paildramon nodded and flew back to battle Velgamon while steering away from Deathbeemon, not wanting to fight a friend. They were engaged in a serious battle, and after a while it was evident that Velgamon was at the upper hand as he delivered blow after blow towards Paildramon, who had resorted into defending himself. The odds were against Paildramon, and he still had to be wary of Deathbeemon, who was strangely silent as he observed the battle. Velgamon continued attacking while laughing sadistically.

"Why don't you just give up, Paildramon? Even if you emerge unscathed in this fight, which I don't think is possible, I still have my army of Chaos Force waiting for my command. Chaos Seadramon is here as well, and you know that he is a Mega," he said. "What chance do you have against him?"

"I'll fight to the end if I have to!" Paildramon spat bravely.

Before Velgamon managed to answer, green lights appeared at the sky and a familiar figure flew out from the green lights. Paildramon used the distraction to kick away Velgamon, as MagnaAngemon flew closer towards him.

"I almost think that you're not coming. Sorry to call you during your vacation," Paildramon said apologetically.

"Don't sweat it," MagnaAngemon replied. "I came as quickly as I can when Yolei said that we're facing Chaos Specter himself." Looking at Velgamon, MagnaAngemon frowned. "Please don't tell me _that's_ him!"

"That's him all right, and he's tough!" Paildramon said. Motioning towards Deathbeemon, he continued, "And that's Stingmon, as Deathbeemon now."

"No way!" MagnaAngemon said. "Why isn't he moving?"

_"Now that he mentioned about it, Davis, Deathbeemon is staying still for quite a long _time," Veemon said.

"Well, let's just be glad that he is, because Velgamon is quite a handful!" Paildramon replied, towards both Veemon who was inside of him and MagnaAngemon.

Velgamon was angry of the sudden intrusion, but didn't show it towards his opponents. He flew higher silently, deciding to attack them from afar. He was also curious of why Deathbeemon wasn't attacking anyone. The Digidestined seemed to notice it as well, he thought, but he was sure that they also didn't know the reason. It was uncanny, it was as if someone had frozen Deathbeemon again. Velgamon thought that it was impossible, as Angewomon was already defeated earlier. His thoughts shifted towards MagnaAngemon, whose sudden appearance was also weird, not knowing that Yolei had contacted him earlier. However he also saw that MagnaAngemon was also baffled by the situation as well.

"**_Master of Darkness!!_**" Velgamon cried, and launched his attacks towards both Paildramon and MagnaAngemon. Both digimon retaliated by launching their attacks, which collided with Velgamon's own attack. Paildramon then fired his blasters towards Velgamon while MagnaAngemon prepared to open a Gate of Destiny. Velgamon wanted to interrupt MagnaAngemon, but with Paildramon attacking him he had no chance at all to stop the archangel digimon. Fearing that he would be sucked into the gate as well, Velgamon steered away from the digimon.

"**_Gate of Destiny!!_**" MagnaAngemon summoned. The gate opened and strong winds erupted, trying to pull Velgamon into his doom. Velgamon flew as far as he could, flapping his wings with all his might, determining to get away. MagnaAngemon made the Gate of Destiny to pursue Velgamon, but Ken's cry stopped him.

"Please, don't pull in Deathbeemon as well!" Ken pleaded. MagnaAngemon had to forget about pursuing Velgamon and de-energized the gate. Deathbeemon was still silent, and MagnaAngemon flew in front of him carefully, afraid of any sudden attacks. Paildramon followed close by his friend.

Studying Deathbeemon closely, both of them saw that the center of Deathbeemon's armor was covered by ice. An ice-cold aura was felt around Deathbeemon, who really looked like he was frozen by coldness rather than immobilized. Thin, transparent layer of ice was slightly visible all over his body, and MagnaAngemon only noticed it when he came towards Deathbeemon closer. He saw an image of himself reflected by Deathbeemon's armor.

"Someone's frozen him to death!" Paildramon gasped. "But who?"

"He's not dead, otherwise he'd be deleted. He would be deleted if we don't take action now," MagnaAngemon said grimly. "Paildramon, stand back." MagnaAngemon crossed his hands over his chest and his wings glowed with rainbows of light. **_"Magna Antidote,"_** he whispered, and the multicolored lights showered the frozen Deathbeemon. The ice layer on the insectoid digimon instantly melted, and in a flash of light Deathbeemon regressed back to Wormmon. The Rookie was unconscious and shivering all over. MagnaAngemon instantly took Wormmon in his hands and flew down back towards the Digidestined. He handed over Wormmon back to Ken, and healed the other unconscious digimon and Kari. The injuries and the poison effect in their bodies were instantly eliminated. All of them thanked MagnaAngemon for curing them.

Hugging Wormmon, Ken thanked MagnaAngemon but he was shocked after feeling Wormmon's cold body. "What's happening to Wormmon?" he asked, worried.

"I don't know," MagnaAngemon said. "Somehow I can't get rid of the coldness in his body. He was frozen in ice up there; luckily I was able to heal him by turning him back into Wormmon. Only a strong digimon with strong powers is able to do this. A Mega, perhaps."

"What can we do to remove this coldness from Wormmon?" Ken asked desperately. His Crest of Kindness suddenly hovered mysteriously, and exploded without warning. The particles of the crest then formed a ray of violet light, which shaped themselves into an arrow pointing towards somewhere at the mountainous regions. The arrow of light seemed to be beckoning Ken to come with it, as it hovered farther and farther from the grounds.

"Maybe it wants you to follow it, Ken," Yolei said. "It seems to be calling on you."

"But how can I go there? With Wormmon in this condition, I can't follow the arrow. Besides, it seems absurd. Where's it going to take me?" Ken questioned.

"You'll never know until you follow it Ken. It might be reacting to your pleas on how to cure Wormmon. Perhaps it knows of a way, and it's trying to take you," Cody reasoned. Ken paused to think for a while; it seemed to be the only explanation he could believe, no matter how illogical it might have sounded. But if it were leading to a way to cure Wormmon, then Ken would pursue it.

"The crests are magical in their own ways," Kari said weakly, but she was smiling. "I think Cody is right."

"You can't go there alone," Yolei said. "Let Aquilamon and I help you to go where the arrow wants to take you."

"I can cover more grounds faster by flying, rather than you walk there alone," Aquilamon said. "Believe me, it'll be no trouble."

Ken nodded glumly, but tried to smile. "All right. Thanks, Yolei, Aquilamon." Ken held Wormmon close to his body with one hand, and climbed onto Aquilamon's body. Yolei climbed next, and sat herself in front of Ken. The arrow then darted away instantly, and Aquilamon hoisted himself up into the air and chased after the arrow. The remaining Digidestined and digimon watched over as Aquilamon's figure disappeared into the clouds.

"What now?" Paildramon asked.

"We have to free Emeraldo City," Piximon replied. "I feel ready to fight after MagnaAngemon healed me."

"We better be careful. Chaos Seadramon is in there!" GrapLeomon warned.

"Velgamon must have warned his army that we're here," Cody said. "Look!" he cried, pointing towards the city. All of them saw a giant blue-armored serpent digimon approaching from the sky, with a horde of Mekanorimon and Blossomon marching on the grounds below. "It's Chaos Seadramon!"

* * *

Meanwhile on Tyrannovalley, it was pandemonium. Chaosdramon had invaded the valley and had mercilessly killed all those who tried to stop him. The two Allomon who were stationed to guard the entrance were already deleted, and Chaosdramon had absorbed their data. Now the frightfully evil digimon were fighting the two Pteramon, a Brachiomon, and a trio of Tyrannomon. In the mean time, several DarkTyrannomon under the command of Triceramon were standing by just in case the team led by Brachiomon was defeated. A Metalgreymon and an ExTyrannomon were also nearby, with four Greymon ready to fight.

"Call out MasterTyrannomon now, or you all will be deleted!!" Chaosdramon roared and swiped away Brachiomon. He grabbed on Brachiomon's long neck and crushed it, killing the gentle digimon easily. The Tyrannomon trio then advanced forward to battle, but being Champion they were no match for Chaosdramon.

"Go away, traitor! You have no place here!" the Pteramon cried and launched their attacks towards Chaosdramon. However Chaosdramon's armor was impenetrable by the Pteramon's missiles. Seeing that they were unable to defeat Chaosdramon with the missiles, the Pteramon flew up towards the sky to safety. The Tyrannomon trios were not scared of the Mega despite their limitations, and continued attacking him. This resulted in them being deleted with a swipe of Chaosdramon's claw.

"We can't attack him blindly or we'll suffer the same fate as them," ExTyrannomon said, blocking the heroic Metalgreymon from advancing towards Chaosdramon.

"We should protect the master," Metalgreymon protested. The four Greymon hooted their agreements, wanting to fight the traitor of their clan.

"Don't be silly! The master doesn't want anyone to be deleted because of him!" Triceramon shouted angrily.

"MasterTyrannomon! Come out and fight me!" Chaosdramon called out loudly. "Or I'll destroy the whole valley and your clan!" He proved it by aiming his cannon towards a bone formation, and launched a huge fireball towards it. He launched a second harass, but the attack was countered by a blast fired by MasterTyrannomon himself, who had finally come out to battle. Chaosdramon laughed heartily upon seeing his former rival, knowing that he won't face a great deal of challenge, as MasterTyrannomon was a level below him. The solemn MasterTyrannomon was remorseful for the losses of a few members of his clan, and looked towards Chaosdramon with silent fury.

"If you think that you can just come here and do everything you want, then you are wrong," he began. "I won't let the murderer of my loyal subjects to go away easily. I will fight you even if it costs me my own life."

"Well said, MasterTyrannomon. You are always the magnanimous one. Perhaps this is why our late master had chosen you instead of me," Chaosdramon boomed. "You don't even stand a chance, old friend. Why don't you step down the throne and let me take over. Then I will spare you and your loyal subjects."

"We won't be your subjects, traitor! Better for us to die rather than to serve a two-face like you!" Metalgreymon shouted.

"I can fulfill your wish, Chaosdramon, but you heard them yourself. They won't serve you. What good will come if you have no one to side with you?" MasterTyrannomon challenged. "Even if the combined forces of my subjects and I aren't enough to stop you, we all will die heroically and together. You, on the other hand, will always be alone."

Chaosdramon was infuriated by the words of MasterTyrannomon. "Then fine! I'll kill all of you and take your data, I'll be the strongest digimon around! I'll even fight Chaos Specter and the generals of his to prove to the world that I am the most powerful one around."

"Greedy as always, aren't you?" MasterTyrannomon said sarcastically.

The snide comment caused Chaosdramon to begin his attacks on his rival. MasterTyrannomon was prepared to face any incoming attack, and blocked the fireball launched by Chaosdramon with his claws. No ordinary Ultimate digimon could withstand such attack, but MasterTyrannomon was given the gift of power that was inherited to him by the past rulers of the Tyranno Clan. The legacy of power made him stronger than any other MasterTyrannomon around. He then signaled for his subjects to attack Chaosdramon together.

"Coward!" Chaosdramon spat as he kicked away the Tyrannomon and the DarkTyrannomon. "Fight me alone if you dare. I challenge you for the position of ruler of this valley. You know only too well that you have to accept any challenge, and should you lose you have to hand over the throne to the challenger."

"We're strong if we are together," MasterTyrannomon replied. "I will fight you alone, as the rule has stated. But there is nothing wrong when another wishes to offer assistance to the current ruler without the permission of the ruler. And I daresay that even if I forbid my subjects to help me, they will disobey me blatantly as there is a strict rule pertaining about how we should deal with traitors."

Chaosdramon was furthermore enraged by MasterTyrannomon and tried to attack him using his sharp claws. MasterTyrannomon blocked the attempt to his life by Chaosdramon. He then took on the offensive and showered Chaosdramon with a blazing ray of fire from his mouth. The strong armor of Chaosdramon however was barely scorched by the attack, which surprised MasterTyrannomon. The attack should have penetrated the armor and burned his body, but Chaosdramon was unharmed. Metalgreymon, ExTyrannomon and Triceramon then launched a combined attack towards Chaosramon as well, and a portion of the armor exploded, revealing Chaosdramon's red body underneath. Angered by the attacks, Chaosdramon blasted away the three Ultimate digimon using his cannon. The force of the attack was too strong, and all three Ultimate digimon were instantly injured.

MasterTyrannomon then summoned all his might to battle Chaosdramon, but he knew that his chances were slim. He then prayed for any help to come, as Chaosdramon swiped him using his long tail, causing him to tumble onto the ground. Chaosdramon then proceeded by humiliating the ruler of Tyrannovalley by stepping on his head with his right foot. Stomping onto MasterTyrannomon's head repeatedly until he was almost buried onto the grounds, Chaosdramon was unexpectedly stopped by a wave of pink and white energy beams in the forms of flower petals.

"Who's there?" he yelled in annoyance and turned his head towards the source of the attack. The digimon of the valley also was shocked by the sudden attack towards Chaosdramon, but grew deathly silent as they saw the unexpected challenger.

"It's...it's her!" one Tyrannomon gasped, as a tall, humanly female digimon walked calmly towards them. "The lady of the Ivory Citadel!"

The intruder, whom the Tyrannomon described as the lady of the Ivory Citadel, was dressed in white garment over a long red garb underneath, which reached the grounds. A black belt was fastened on her slim waist, and the unstitched sides of the red garb showed off a portion of her thighs. She had flawless fair skin, and beautiful flowing long white hair, which was tied in two. A yellow mask depicting of a fox, making her resemble Kuzuhamon of the Kulon Mines greatly, covered her expressionless face. Her lips were painted violet, and on her right hand was a feather duster.

"I heard that she's a priestess digimon," the Pteramon whispered to each other. "Some even say that she's a powerful sorceress."

"She looks so innocent," Metalgreymon muttered. "But looks can be deceiving. The old master regarded her highly."

"She's a Mega digimon, of data type. That is all I know about her," Triceramon said towards the DarkTyrannomon, who were excited upon seeing the unexpected visitor.

MasterTyrannomon struggled to hoist his head up, and sighed in relieved when he saw the one who had saved him. "Milady," he wheezed.

"Well, well, well," Chaosdramon said, sniggering slightly. "If it isn't Lady Sakuyamon."

* * *

Over an hour after departing from Emeraldo City, Aquilamon had flown Ken, Yolei and the knocked-out Wormmon over the north quadrant and was going to enter the eastern quadrant, where the Digidestined had their first adventures. They were closing in a region where thick forest grew, and from the sky above Aquilamon could make out small figures of wooden houses built on the larger than usual trees.

"We must be approaching Tree Top Village," Aquilamon decided. "Better hang on, Chaos Piedmon is said to be here. I don't fancy on meeting him here, I'll be easily outmatched."

"Better not say things like that, Aquilamon," Yolei said grimly. "We have enough things in our hands right now, the last thing I want is to face that old bozo. Let's just focus on following the arrow. I wonder where it's taking us."

Ken looked over Yolei's shoulder, whiles holding Wormmon protectively using his left hand. "If I guess correctly, we're about to enter the regions where I reigned a year ago, as the Digimon Emperor," he said glumly. "It's supposed to be the eastern quadrant of the East Sector."

"I wonder what are we doing here," Yolei said as she looked around. Observing the forests below her, she was amazed to see the tree houses built sturdily on the branches of the large trees. It certainly lived up to its name; there were a lot of wooden buildings built on the massive trees. At the center of the forest, the buildings seemed to be more focused than anywhere else. Yolei couldn't make out the finer details of the village, but decided that she would take a trip back to see the village, when suddenly she realized that she and the others would have to come to Tree Top Village soon; the city was supposed to be under control of Chaos Piedmon.

Unlike Yolei who was fascinated by the Tree Top Village, even from afar, Ken was the least bit interested. His attention was focused solely on Wormmon, who was still freezing cold and unconscious. "What's going to happen to him?" he muttered.

"Nothing's going to happen to Wormmon, Ken. You have to believe that," Yolei said firmly.

"Nothing's going to happen to all of us if we manage to steer clear out of Chaos Piedmon's sight," Aquilamon pointed out, and began flapping his wings harder. "I'm going to fly into the clouds, hopefully they'll protect us from being seen by anyone." Flying into the clouds, Aquilamon began to pick up speed as well when the arrow seemed to be eager to dart away faster. Finally they passed over Tree Top Village safely and entered the peninsular, which was the eastern quadrant. The peninsular was a huge mass of land, covered with lush forests, mountains and surrounded mostly by sea.

The arrow that was guiding them suddenly plunged down towards the mountainous area of the quadrant. Aquilamon immediately followed the arrow, which was heading towards the higher grounds of the foot of the mountains. From the sky they could see a cave opening, well hidden by bamboo trees and long weeds. When they landed however, the cave was not visible at all. It was quite impossible to tell, really, as no one would have guessed that there was a cave at all. Ken and Yolei dismounted Aquilamon as the giant eagle digimon dedigivolved back into Hawkmon.

"I know this place," Ken said blankly. "This is the Cave of Illusions." More memories were refreshed in his mind. "I've been here before, this is the place I've told you before. I've entered this cave a long time ago, when I was still young. I've helped Duskmon, who's also Chaos Specter, to retrieve an ancient prophecy of time here."

_"What if I failed to retrieve the prophecy?"_

_"Take this vial with you. You can overcome any digimon that cross your path."_

_"After I retrieve the prophecy… will you help me with the pain on my neck?"_

_"Absolutely."_

"I first came into the Digital World when I took a Digivice that materialized over the monitor of my late brother's computer," Ken began. "Sam forbade me to touch the Digivice but I disobeyed him, and as the result I ended up in this world. Then I met Ryo, another Digidestined, and he was my first and best friend, although he was the same age with my brother. Then I met Wormmon, and he too became my best friend. Ryo then had a Veemon as a partner, and we teamed up to face a bad digimon called Milleniummon, who had the power to alter time… With a strange twist of fate, we've won, but Milleniummon had the last say when he fired a few Dark Spores towards Ryo. However I saw the spores coming and pushed Ryo out of the way. One of the spores got me and I was in lot of pain, I finally was knocked out cold. When I awoke, the pain was gone and I went back to the Digital World. Then the nightmare begun as Sam was fatally injured in an accident with a car, it was a hit and run case. The pain came again, and I heard strange voices in my head when I was in grief. Trying to find solace in the company of my best friends, I went to the Digital World again. But I didn't meet Wormmon." Ken paused for a while, frowning but also was smiling slightly; he was happy to finally remember.

"Who did you meet then?" Yolei asked eagerly.

"I met _him_," Ken said darkly. "I met Duskmon. He told me that he had a way to ease all my pains, but I have to do something for him first. He brought me here and asked me to retrieve the prophecy I've told you about, which was guarded in this cave."

"Why didn't he do it himself?" Hawkmon wondered.

"The Cave of Illusions is supposed to be immune from all evil. If an evil being dares to enter it, the cave will simply destroy it. Duskmon was afraid of that, and instead he used me. A young kid, who didn't know anything about evil. An innocent child whom the cave would not harm. Duskmon gave me a vial containing a concoction, which would turn anyone I splashed it into a stone statue. I met the guardian of the prophecy, and before she could ask any question I sprayed her with the liquid, and she turned into a stone instantly. I don't really remember what else happens, other than that I managed to retrieve the prophecy and came out of the cave safely. As a token of gratitude, Duskmon presented me with a flying fortress and eliminated the pain from the Dark Spores. And the rest is history."

"You have a rough past, Ken," Yolei said sympathetically. "I guess that's why the arrow took us here." The arrow was pointing towards the entrance of the cave, and judging by the way it was shining it seemed eager and excited for Ken to enter the cave.

"Yeah, it means that I have to undo my wrongs in the past," Ken said as realization hit him. "I've done what I can to redeem myself to the digimon I've enslaved, but I've done nothing to undo what I've done towards the guardian of the prophecy. There is still darkness inside of me until I've returned her back."

Yolei nodded. "We'll enter the cave together. Don't worry, Ken," she said gently, placing a hand on Ken's shoulder. "I'll help you."

"Thanks, Yolei. But I think this is something I have to do myself," Ken said. "I'm sure that's why the Crest of Kindness takes me here."

"Okay," Yolei said with a smile. She approached Ken closely and planted a kiss on Ken's right cheek. "Come back safely, Ken. Good luck." She was blushing, and Ken was flustered slightly. But then, he smiled as his cheek turned into a darker shade of pink.

"I will," Ken said, his voice sounded stronger now. "I have a lot of things to look forward to."

Ken walked slowly but with confidence, holding Wormmon close to him with his right hand. Hawkmon used the feather on his head to cut the weeds and bamboo trees obstructing the entrance of the Cave of Illusions. Ken could see nothing else but darkness inside of the cave, but suddenly faint mist began to appear. It was the power of the cave in order to allow only those who were good to pass, and destroy those who were evil.

"Here goes nothing," Ken muttered, and took a step into the cave.

Yolei was very sure that Ken would made it into the cave safely; he was a Digidestined of Kindness and he had been defending the Digital World after regretting his past evil feat as the Digimon Emperor. She was wrong however. Just as Ken stepped inside of the cave, the mist engulfed him and formed a faint, transparent purple barrier around him. Ken then began to scream loudly, sounding as if he was in an unimaginable pain. He'd dropped Wormmon, who had safely landed inside the cave, still unconscious. Next, the mist began to darken, and there was a sound of electricity crackling. Ken's screams then intensified as he dropped to his knees.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!"

* * *

**Author's Note** - Deathbeemon is a creation of mine

**Review Comments**

**_J.D. Guy_** - Don't worry, I will finish this story. Thanks for reading and reviewing, hope you enjoy the recent two chapters that I've added.

**_Trevor the Enchanter_** - Thanks for reading and reviewing my fic. I'm sorry that I haven't review your fic yet. You see, I'm still depending on cyber-cafe for my internet connection as I am still on vacation. I write the stories on my dad's laptop, which we brought together with us during the vacation and sneak off to the nearest cyber-cafe to submit the fics. I'll start reading and reviewing when I get back to my own computer back home.

**_DTV_** - Thanks for the lengthy review, I really appreciate it and have fun reading them. As I still haven't the chance to watch Frontier, your review is very informative. About Duskmon/Velgamon/Chaos Specter, he has no connection with Duskmon/Velgamon/Kouichi in Frontier. Hope this clear any confusion.


	23. The Trial of Kindness, part II

**_VENGEANCE_**

**_Chapter 22 – The Trial of Kindness, Part II_**

-

-

Screaming in agony, Ken struggled with all his might to break free from the dark mist that was surrounding him but was stopped by an invisible barrier that seemed to form around him. His feet felt like being pricked by the sharpest of needles, his hands seemed to be frozen stiff, and that his body was being electrocuted which forced him back to his feet involuntarily. Strangely, neither sensation seemed to be causing bodily harm upon Ken, but the pain he felt was nevertheless excruciating.

"YOU!" A loud voice boomed out of nowhere. "You are not worthy to enter the Cave of Illusions! Only those who are good may enter here!"

Waves of memories flooded Ken's mind. The first was during the time he was still young, when his older brother Sam was still alive. He was watching Sam playing with his computer when a Digivice popped out from the monitor. Sam warned Ken not to touch it, but Ken disobeyed him and ended up being in the Digital World.

"You disobeyed your own brother!" the same voice said loudly.

"No… I didn't mean to."

After his return, Sam found out about it and was angered. Ken ended up screaming, wishing Sam was dead. And unfortunately, not too long after that Sam was involved in a fatal accident, a case of hit-and-run. He was dead on the spot.

"You wished that your brother was dead!"

"No… I didn't mean for that!"

The scene shifted into Ken and Duskmon, plotting to enter the Cave of Illusions for the first time. Ken had used the vial given by Duskmon, who was actually Chaos Specter, to turn the guardian of the prophecy into stone.

"You used underhand means to defeat the guardian of this cave!"

It then showed Ken, at the Dark Ocean, turning his Digivice into a Black D3 Digivice, and continued shouting its accusations.

"You embraced the side of darkness!"

Next, it was the countless number of times Ken had whipped Wormmon, regardless of the fact that Wormmon was his partner.

"You tortured your own digimon partner heartlessly!"

After that, it was the times when Ken, as the Digimon Emperor, distributed the Dark Rings and Control Spires all over the eastern quadrant of the East Sector. Ken was forced to see the times when he had enslaved the digimon there, forcing them to fight among themselves for his entertainment.

"You treated digimon as if they were lifeless creatures!"

Subsequently, the strange voice revealed the moment when Ken was dreading the most. It was the time he used Devimon's data to complete the creation of his Kimeramon, and subsequently causing the return of the fallen angel back on File Island. Ken was forced to relive the moment when Kimeramon had caused deaths of many innocent digimon during its rampage. Ultimately, it showed Ken the battle between Kimeramon and Magnamon, which ended up in Wormmon being deleted. And finally, the most recent event played in Ken's head as it showed how Ken's anger forced Stingmon to Dark Digivolve into Deathbeemon.

"You created a monster, and caused the loss of many innocent lives and also of your own partner! You are not worthy to be called a Digidestined, and definitely not deserving the Crest of Kindness! You caused the death of your own partner digimon! Even though he gave you a second chance, you decided to pay him back by forcing him to evolve into a digimon full with bane and hatred. You turned him down! Wormmon deserves a better partner than you!"

All of the accusations echoed in Ken's mind, and caused a tear to roll down his face. He slumped on his knees onto the ground, still under deep pain but for a moment, he didn't seem to care. Looking at the unconscious Wormmon, who was obviously oblivious of what was going on around him, Ken felt the same pain which he felt when he discarded the Digimon Emperor within him the previous year. It was worse than any bodily-inflicted pain, perhaps it was the worst kind of pain anyone could ever feel. It was the pain deep within the heart, which was stabbing him from the inside.

"You're wrong…" he sobbed, but Ken himself sounded unconvinced with himself.

"Prove it!"

Ken raked his mind for anything to counter the accusations thrown by the Cave of Illusions. An image of himself, his friend Ryo Akiyama, and a Paildramon appeared within him. They had defeated Milleniummon, and had saved the Digital World. Ken shook his head, knowing that it was nothing compared to the evil deeds he'd done before. Then another memory came; it was when he and Wormmon were reunited after the latter was deleted during the scuffle with Kimeramon. They destroyed the Control Spires together, learning that it was actually Arukenimon who was behind the erection of so many spires. The moment when Stingmon and Exveemon had DNA Digivolved into Paildramon, and subsequently Imperialdramon, formed a slight smile on his face. Indeed it was a warm feeling, and Ken still felt it as if the event had just happened.

Then, Ken recalled the times when he had committed a selfless act by surrendering himself to Yukio Oikawa in return for the safety of the kidnapped children, who unbeknownst to him at that time, were going to be used as Dark Spores hatching places. He didn't do it because he had to, but because he'd wanted to. He had wanted for the kidnapped kids to be safe, to be happy and not to end up like him. When Daemon arrived, Ken had willingly used his D3 to open a portal to the Dark Ocean, knowing too well that it might caused him to suffer as well. Luckily his fellow Digidestined friends had been there to support him. Ken eventually took part in the final battle with MaloMyotismon, recalling that Sam had told him that the digimon had no longer blamed him for his past deed, though some might still remain unconvinced. Wormmon had assured him that it was time for Ken to forgive himself as well, as everyone had forgiven him. Finally, MaloMyotismon was defeated and Ken, along with the other Digidestined all over the world, had saved two worlds from being invaded by darkness.

To his amazement, all the pain he was feeling subsided almost instantly.

"Very well," the voice of the cave boomed again. "You are certainly no longer evil, but are you worthy of your crest's virtue? We shall soon see. You may enter."

Ken was stunned and wanted to ask what the cave had meant, but was only met with silence. The voice, strange as it was, had left him on his own. He glanced outside and saw Yolei and Hawkmon were looking at him in concern. Ken nodded to assure them that he was alright, and flashed a thumb's up with a weary smile to indicate that. Yolei nodded back and mouthed something which Ken concluded as a wish of good luck and to be safe. The barrier was still erected on the entrance of the cave, which blocked all sounds from coming through it. He then went back up to his feet and picked Wormmon gently. The worm digimon's body was still freezing, but it was no longer as cold as it was when Wormmon was Deathbeemon.

"Here we go," said Ken, and began to enter the dark cave, unknowing of what to expect.

* * *

"We meet again, Digidestined," said Chaos Seadramon, his voice echoing all over Emeraldo City. "How I long for the chance to destroy all of you, and thankfully the master have decided that he would let me to do the honors."

"Your master has fled simply because he's too chicken to fight all of us!" said Davis defiantly. "He's letting you to do the dirty work because he was no match against all of us!"

"Don't talk about the master that way!" replied Chaos Seadramon angrily. "Mekanorimon, Blossomon, attack them!"

As the swarms of Mekanorimon and Blossomon charged towards the Digidestined, the disciples of HolyAngemon quickly flew past the Digidestined, followed by Piximon and Ankylomon. Piddomon indicated that the Digidestined, sans Cody, should all Transdigivolve with their partners to face Chaos Seadramon while they took care of his minions. Davis, TK and Kari quickly merged with their partners, and as Paildramon, Angewomon and MagnaAngemon charged towards Chaos Seadramon, Cody was left with GrapLeomon.

"You should join the fight as well, GrapLeomon," asserted Cody. "Your strength is an asset to them."

"Maybe so, but your safety is more important to me," said GrapLeomon. "Right now, you are most vulnerable to any attack."

"You're right about that," Cody grumbled. "How I wish I can Transdigivolve."

Together they watched as Ankylomon rammed over a few Mekanorimon, causing them to malfunction. Cody had been apprehensive about killing digimon, so Ankylomon bore that in mind. Although, he'd rather finish them off quickly as they were servants of Chaos Specter. Seeing that Mekanorimon could be damaged without deleting them, the ankylosaur digimon dealt with them less-violently.

In the meantime, the three angels of HolyAngemon took the more aggressive approach against three wild Blossomon. All of them had glowing red eyes, which meant that they served Chaos Specter. The angels decided to tackle one Blossomon at a time, as they were no match for the rampaging Ultimate in one-on-one battle.

Paildramon, Angewomon and MagnaAngemon were hovering on the air, facing Chaos Seadramon. The Digidestined were awry of the Mega digimon; Chaos Seadramon possessed more power than any average Mega digimon and with the three of them being only Ultimates, they would need to combine all they attacks together to stand a chance against him.

-

-

**- DIGIMON ANALYZER -  
Name :** Chaos Seadramon  
**Attribute** : Virus  
**Level** : Mega  
**Type** : Cyborg  
**Specialty** : Water

**Attacks **: River of Power, Giga Ice Blast  
**Power Level** : 125

Chaos Seadramon are one of three Chaos Generals who were under Chaos Specter. He possesses the similar kinds of attacks that any data-type MetalSeadramon has, but those attacks are intensified in power due to an upgrade given by Chaos Specter for his three servants. He also owns the similar ability of swimming at great speed and is capable of flying. Protected by Chrome Digizoid armor all over his body, it would be next to impossible to inflict any bodily harm onto this Chaos General's body.**  
-**

-

-

"He's even stronger than Tai's Wargreymon!" said Angewomon. "We really have to be careful."

"Not only that," said MagnaAngemon. "He's even more powerful than that crazed Chaosdramon Davis and I met back at Harmona!"

"I'm stronger than any of you pathetic cretins put together!" exclaimed Chaos Seadramon, and his metallic snout glowed with blue lights. He launched his most devastating attack, the River of Power, towards his three opponents to finish them off quickly. Luckily, they managed to evade the attack simply by flying away. Paildramon quickly retaliated by firing off his Desperado Blaster, which had no effect against Chaos Seadramon's Chrome Digizoid armor.

"Drats!" he muttered angrily. "Not a dent!"

"Are you attacking me just now, because I only felt tickles on my body," taunted Chaos Seadramon. "You should know that I possess an advantage against you. A mere Data digimon can't cause much harm on a proud Virus such as me!"

"You think you're hot stuff!" growled Paildramon. "How about a dose of Exveemon's specialty, that'll ought to change your mind! Vee Laser!"

The laser attack generated from Paildramon's chest simply bounced harmlessly against Chaos Seadramon's heavy armor, but it did cause a slight scorch there. Paildramon sighed in frustration and was about to let out another attack until MagnaAngemon stopped him.

"It's no use, Davis. The attack will simply rebound again no matter how often you attack. We need a plan," said MagnaAngemon.

"What do you have in mind?" Angewomon joined in.

"Spill it already," groaned Paildramon.

"It's pretty obvious that if our attacks won't work against him, then our only option is to banish him into the Gate of Destiny," said MagnaAngemon. "The thing is, I don't really have enough power to do that on my own. I…" Before he could finish his sentence, all three Digidestined had to scatter away from another incoming attack from Chaos Seadramon.

"Heaven's Charm!"

"Desperado Blaster!"

The two attacks from Angewomon and Paildramon were aimed at the organic parts of Chaos Seadramon which were unprotected by the armor. However Chaos Seadramon immediately used his tail to whip both attacks away.

"What we really need is a Wargreymon," gasped Angewomon. "As I can recall, only a Wargreymon's Dramon Destroyer could destroy a Dramon-typed digimon such as Chaos Seadramon."

"No kidding," muttered Paildramon. "I'm not going to give up, though! Elemental Bolt!"

Paildramon sent four energy balls consisting of the four of the major elements of the world; namely Fire, Ice, Electric and Poison attacks. The ice elemental bolt simply rebounded against Chaos Seadramon's thick armor, but the fire, electric and poison attacks were seen to be entering Chaos Seadramon's organic parts. The serpentine digimon seemed to shudder for a while, but he immediately shrugged it off and looked unscathed.

"That really stung," declared Chaos Seadramon. "But like I said, you are a mere Data so your attack has no major effect against me!"

"Then let us Vaccines teach you a lesson!" said MagnaAngemon loudly. "Soul Banish!"

MagnaAngemon slashed his Excalibur in mid-air, and a strange glowing silver pentagram appeared. Inside the pentagram were large Digital World alphabets which MagnaAngemon himself didn't understand really well. Patamon, inside the body of MagnaAngemon, translated the strange characters as the word 'Banish'. The pentagram let out a brilliant flash of dazzling silver lights which blinded Chaos Seadramon.

Angewomon decided to join in the attack as well. "Celestial Arrow!"

Both attacks collided with Chaos Seadramon's armor, and after MagnaAngemon's attack hit him, Angewomon's arrow managed to break a part of the armor near Chaos Seadramon's chest. Seeing an opportunity, Paildramon instantly summoned the Elemental Bolt again and fired onto the unprotected part of the snake's chest, previously exposed by his two angelic counterparts.

"GAAAAH! You'll pay for that!" Chaos Seadramon roared angrily and retaliated with, "River of Power!"

In the meantime, Piximon and Ankylomon had taken care of all the evil Mekanorimon without destroying them. They simply malfunctioned, causing Chaos Specter's power over them to dissipate, but whether it was for the time being or permanently, nobody knew. They then decided to help the angels who weren't having better luck. D'Archmon was already injured and had to retreat, leaving only Angemon and Piddomon to fight all three Blossomon.

"Spiral Flower!" all three Blossomon chorused together, and pelted the angel brothers with spinning flowers erupting from their plant-like limbs. Both Angemon and Piddomon were sent flying away almost instantly. Roaring madly, the Ultimate plant digimon stampeded towards the angels when Piximon and Ankylomon moved in to attack them. The Blossomon immediately roped Ankylomon with vines, and tossed him on the air while whipping him continuously with their vines and leaves. It was rare for any digimon to be able to lift Ankylomon, who weighted a lot, but with unrivalled team work the Blossomon had just set a record. Every whipping caused Ankylomon to become weak gradually.

"Let him go!" Piximon warned, but the Blossomon paid no heed to him. "Okay, you ask for it. Pit Bomb!"

Piximon's attack went soaring towards one of the Blossomon, and hit it squarely on its face. The unfortunate Blossomon immediately released its grope on Ankylomon and angrily went for Piximon while the other two continued their torture towards Ankylomon.

"Data against Data, Ultimate against Ultimate," said Piximon, analyzing his oncoming opponent. "It's been a while since I really have a good fight."

"Spiral Flower!" roared the Blossomon, sending spinning flower that befitted the manner of the shuriken used by ninjas. Piximon, being a great digimon trainer he was, expertly dodged all the attacks and defended himself with his staff.

"Is that all the best you can do? Pit Bomb!"

The Blossomon lashed out its vines towards the attack sent by Piximon. Without replying to Piximon's taunt, it continued to attack Piximon again. The battle between the two Ultimates was getting more intense, and after exchanging flower-shuriken and bombs both party were getting exhausted. The Blossomon suddenly stopped attacking as it was already exhausted.

Piximon smiled smugly after noticing the Blossomon tiring. "You are lacking stamina, rookie."

However his victory was cut short when Piximon suddenly felt something really, really heavy collided against him on the back. It was Ankylomon, thrown away towards him by the other two Blossomon. The unexpected turn of event caused the battle to be in the Blossomon's favor as Ankylomon was too injured to sustain his Champion level any longer, while Piximon was hurt by Ankylomon's sudden weight and could not continue fighting. He and Armadillomon rolled over to where Cody, GrapLeomon and the angels were at.

"Sorry, Cody," sighed Armadillomon. "Those flower freaks were just too strong for me."

"You did your best, Armadilllomon," assured Cody.

"It's time for me to take part in this battle," said GrapLeomon grimly, and motioned for the other digimon to keep an eye for Cody.

But as he was beginning to make his move towards the Blossomon, a tall figure dressed in purple armor brushed past him swiftly. The stranger was holding a staff, and judging from its figure GrapLeomon concluded that this digimon must be a female. The mysterious female digimon then raised her staff and tapped the ground lightly with it while reciting what seemed to be a poem. Waves of purple aura and thousands cherry blossom petals showered out from the staff and surrounded the three Blossomon. Amazingly, the single attack from her caused all three Blossomon to be deleted.

"Amazing," muttered GrapLeomon in awe, as the lady stranger turned to walk towards them.

"She…destroyed them," said Cody, but brushed the thought aside, remembering that the Blossomon chose to be evil. It was an act of free-will. Cody then decided to get to know of this mysterious stranger.

-

-

**- DIGIMON ANALYZER -  
Name :** Kuzuhamon  
**Attribute** : Virus  
**Level** : Mega  
**Type** : Sorceress  
**Specialty** : Ice

**Attacks **: Reverse Spirit Strike, Amethyst Wind  
**Power Level** : 95

Kuzuhamon is the viral version of the usual compassionate data type Sakuyamon, and has an aura of mystery around her. So far there is only one Kuzuhamon recorded to be seen on the Digital World. She serves the Harmonious One of the North, Ebonwumon, and resides in the Ice Lake within Kulon Mines. Nothing else is known about her, but sources say that her history dates back to the era when the Digital World was first invaded by the forces of evil.**  
-**

**-**

**-**

"Intriguing," said Cody. "She's ancient!"

"She's hot!" chimed in Armadillomon, earning a glare from Cody. "What? Just look at her!"

"I've never heard of a Kuzuhamon, or a Sakuyamon," said Cody confusedly. "She's a Virus type digimon, but the analyzer said that she's serving Ebonwumon, so she must be on our side."

"That's good to hear," said Armadillomon. "I certainly don't want to get on her bad side."

A loud deafening BOOM! was suddenly heard from the sky, where the three Transdigivolved Digidestined were battling Chaos Seadramon. This caught the attention of everyone down there. Kuzuhamon glanced towards the sky, and without warning she shot up straight into the air.

"Let's hope that she's going to help Paildramon and the others the same way she did to us," said Armadillomon, totally in awe of Kuzuhamon.

Chaos Seadramon had just launched his mighty River of Power again, and it took all three Digidestined to come up with a counter-attack powerful enough to defend themselves against the Chaos General. However, fighting a strong Mega digimon caused the three of them to weaken, but they were not willing to give up.

"Hand of Fate!"

"Vee Laser!"

"Heaven's Charm!"

Their efforts proved futile as Chaos Seadramon was still exceptionally strong and was able to withstand the attacks easily although MagnaAngemon and Angewomon's attacks did hurt him a little whenever those attacks hit his organic body parts. As a Data type, Paildramon had to constantly resort into using Exveemon's attacks, which had Vaccine attributes, to combat Chaos Seadramon. However, even by doing so they were still outclassed by the powerful Mega.

"We really could use a Mega digimon now on our side!" Paildramon sighed in frustration. As if on cue, a lady digimon in purple armor flew past him elegantly and hovered near him. Paildramon couldn't believe his eyes as he scanned the newcomer's information.

_"Consider your prayers answered, __Davis__!"_ said Veemon.

"Leave him to me," said Kuzuhamon. "The three of you, take cover."

"Another challenger?" inquired Chaos Seadramon, feigning interest. "You're sending a puny lady-mon to fight your battle?"

"Reverse Spirit Strike!" summoned Kuzuhamon, and a giant specter of a fox materialized from her back. The fox ghost emitted an icy aura which caused the Digidestined to feel the intense cold, and shuddered. The ghostly attack of Kuzuhamon flew through Chaos Seadramon's snout. With amazement, the Digidestined saw that Chaos Seadramon's helmet was frozen first, then his whole body was covered with frost.

"Awesome!" said Paildramon.

Chaos Seadramon was baffled. He instantly realized that he was facing a Mega digimon with the same attribute and specialty as him. It was least expected; especially because her attack had caused the effect Chaos Seadramon was feeling now.

"Not so puny, am I?" asked Kuzuhamon seriously.

"I'm impressed. You really make any icy viral Mega digimon proud," said Chaos Seadramon with a wicked snicker. "However you should have realized that who you are dealing now is a direct servant of Chaos Specter." With a glowing red aura around his body, Chaos Seadramon immediately broke free from the effect of Kuzuhamon's attack.

"I've fought one of your fellow general before," she said coldly. "I definitely know what I'm getting myself into."

"You must mean that traitorous Chaos Wargreymon," said Chaos Seadramon snidely. "You've fought him, and you're still alive? I must say that I'm amazed. Surely he went easy on you."

"I want to know where Chaos Wargreymon is right now," demanded Kuzuhamon.

"What business do you have with him?" asked Chaos Seadramon curiously. "Wait… it's something to do with that crystal the master had sent for him to retrieve is it so? If that's the case then you are also a threat for the master's plan. I shall eliminate you together with these three cretins! Giga Ice Blast!"

"Ahh!" cried Kuzuhamon, quickly evading the attack as she was unprepared to receive the attack. But by doing so she had exposed the three unsuspecting Digidestined in danger. "Reverse Spirit Strike!"

Paildramon, Angewomon and MagnaAngemon had barely enough time to dodge when Kuzuhamon's spectral attack swirled around Chaos Seadramon's attack, and slowly deleting it. The delay was enough for the three Digidestined to move away from danger.

Kuzuhamon quickly regained stance at waved her staff over the air. "Amethyst Wind!"

Chaos Seadramon found himself to be showered by cherry blossoms all over, which struck him all over his body. The attack was surprisingly strong, and Chaos Seadramon felt himself being weakened. Kuzuhamon quickly struck him again with another blast of her Amethyst Wind attack, but Chaos Seadramon shot out a powerful ray of energy beam from his snout, thus canceling the second attempt of Kuzuhamon.

"Do you think we should help her?" asked Angewomon.

"She told us to leave this battle to her," replied Paildramon.

"But it seems like she needs one," said MagnaAngemon. "We should assist her; after all she did come to our rescue."

"Something is off about her," said Paildramon suspiciously.

"What do you mean?" asked Angewomon.

"Her fox-ghost attack is ice based, right? I was thinking… could she be responsible for Wormmon being frozen to a near-death?"

Both MagnaAngemon and Angewomon were stunned to hear Paildramon's accusation.

"We'll ask her about that later," MagnaAngemon decided. "Right now, if we want to know whether she is responsible for freezing Wormmon we should make sure that she's alive."

The three of them then joined Kuzuhamon in the fight. Kuzuhamon seemed to be grateful for the assistance; she wasn't doing so well on her own as Chaos Seadramon proved to be stronger than her. However, the odds may rose against him if Kuzuhamon and the Digidestined worked together.

Kuzuhamon then advanced towards Chaos Seadramon, waving her staff and sent away her Amethyst Wind attack again. She was followed by Angewomon, who flew forward and released her Heaven's Charm attack to assist Kuzuhamon. The effect from their combined power was unexpectable; the pink aura of Angewomon's attack blended in with Kuzuhamon's attack and turned her gentle attack into a glowing pink blizzard of cherry blossoms. Chaos Seadramon cried in pain, the effect of the attack had broken parts of his strong Chrome Digizoid armor. Bits and pieces of the armor were peeled of off his body, exposing his grey, scaly organic skin.

"Gaahh! Giga Ice Blast!" roared Chaos Seadramon in rage, and blasted Kuzuhamon away with his mighty attack. He was furious for being bested by two female digimon, and was determined not to let both Kuzuhamon and Angewomon get away with this. He would be shamed in front of Chaos Specter and Chaos Piedmon if he couldn't defeat the two female digimon.

"Kuzuhamon!" cried Angewomon, as another attack from Chaos Seadramon was coming towards her. Folding her wings tight, Angewomon channeled her energy towards her eight pure white wings, making them her shield from the oncoming attack. She was hit, and was sent flying straight towards the grounds. Crashing onto the ground, she reverted back into a much weakened Kari and Gatomon.

Both Paildramon and MagnaAngemon were surprised and angered for what was happening towards their dear friends.

"You prepare the Gate of Destiny, TK," ordered Paildramon and he pelted straight towards Chaos Seadramon. "Desperado Blaster!"

"I'm getting really tired of you, foolish Data!" said Chaos Seadramon wearily, and snapped his metallic tail towards Paildramon. Paildramon was expecting to be whipped with the tail, and prepared to defend himself. However, Chaos Seadramon seemed to change his mind and used his tail to rope Paildramon instead. He exerted strong force in crushing Paildramon, wanting to get rid of the dragon man digimon.

"Davis!" cried MagnaAngemon, and had to abandon his plan of forming the mystical Gate of Destiny to help his friend. Not too far from him, Kuzuhamon was looking at Paildramon in concern, hesitating to attack.

"No, TK! Form the gate, now!"

MagnaAngemon stopped dead in track. "But you'll be absorbed as well!"

"I'll risk it," said Paildramon, his voice sounded really strained.

Kuzuhamon approached MagnaAngemon from behind. "Do as he said."

"I don't have enough power to pull in a digimon as strong as Chaos Seadramon into the gate!" said MagnaAngemon despairingly.

The dark lady fox digimon was thoughtful for a while before her expression become serious again. "Listen. Do you think you can pull in that serpent into your Gate of Destiny if you have more power?"

MagnaAngemon hesitated for a while before answering,"I… yes, I think I can."

Kuzuhamon nodded. "Now, what do you have to do to form the gate?"

"I'll need to charge up the Excalibur first before forming the gate. That's where the problem is, I don't think I have much energy left."

"Don't worry about that. Energize your blade now," ordered Kuzuhamon.

MagnaAngemon quickly did as he was ordered, while Kuzuhamon began to stand still and one of her hand was posed into a meditating stance, while the other was holding her staff. She was uttering a prayer, and instantly her body glowed with light violet lights as cherry blossoms flew in from the aura around her. Kuzuhamon then used her staff to direct the cherry blossoms to surround MagnaAngemon while continuing with her chanting. MagnaAngemon suddenly felt himself full with Kuzuhamon's power, and instantly his Excalibur glimmered with brilliant purple lights, with cherry blossoms flying around him. Suddenly Kuzuhamon's purple armor, gloves, boots and mask vanished from her body, leaving her clad only in black cat suit. Her long white hair flowed freely behind her back, no longer neatly tied as it was before.

"Now you have the means," she said, her strong voice now sounded slightly tired and strained. "You are now wielding my powers as well as your own, use it to finish off that serpent."

"This is really amazing," exclaimed MagnaAngemon, and cried out loudly, "Gate of Destiny!"

Instead of the usual Gate of Destiny, MagnaAngemon had formed a larger gate which would accommodate Chaos Seadramon's size. From the gate, blizzards of cherry blossoms were pulling Chaos Seadramon into the dark vortex inside. The winds were getting stronger each second as Kuzuhamon's power was flowing inside MagnaAngemon. Chaos Seadramon felt shaken and tried to maintain balance. In his effort to avoid himself from being sucked into the Gate of Destiny, Chaos Seadramon had unknowingly weakened his grasp onto Paildramon. Paildramon realized that this was his chance to escape, and quickly focused his energy onto his chest, and generated a Vee Laser strong enough to cause Chaos Seadramon to release him. Flying around Chaos Seadramon and after making sure that he was at a safe distance, Paildramon fired the Elemental Bolt to force the large serpentine digimon to succumb into the gate.

"It can't end like this!" Chaos Seadramon roared. "I would not be defeated by a bunch of sniveling INSECTS!"

He energized all of his remaining power and prepared to unleash his deadliest attack. "River of Power!"

Instead of the usual blasts that came from his snout, this time around the attack seemed to increase in multifold. A mighty, concentrated energy beam made out of Chaos Seadramon's raw power was speeding towards MagnaAngemon and the weakened Kuzuhamon threatening to set ablaze anything that caught in its way.

"Look out!"

* * *

If there was something that annoyed Chaosdramon the most, it was being interrupted just before he would achieve his goal. The sudden appearance of Lady Sakuyamon of the Ivory Citadel was certainly unexpected, as she was an aloof digimon and didn't really bother much about the welfares of the members of Tyranno Clan. It was the first time any of them saw her coming out from Ivory Citadel since her arrival years ago. Those who were hatched after her arrival didn't recognize her, while the elder ones were surprised of her sudden appearance. What would be the reason for her to interrupt a dangerous digimon killing off the ex-ruler of Tyranno Clan?

"What do you want, woman?" he demanded angrily.

Lady Sakuyamon didn't answer the question, she just continued approaching the gargantuan Chaosdramon with an expressionless face. Of course, it was hard to tell what she was feeling because half of her face was covered by the yellow fox-head helmet, but from her demeanor anyone could see that she was a calm yet calculative digimon.

"Milady," MasterTyrannomon choked out, struggling to release his head from Chaosdramon's feet. "It's dangerous out here for you. Please go back to the citadel, where you will be safe."

"Unhand him," said Lady Sakuyamon calmly, ignoring MasterTyrannomon's pleas. "Or do you want me to make you do just that?"

Murmurs and gasps were heard from the crowd. Everyone was speculating whether this lady was actually challenging the crazy Chaosdramon.

"I've defeated him in a fair battle," said Chaosdramon. "You… it's not your place to interfere, woman. Go back to where you came from."

"Is that so?" replied Lady Sakuyamon, sounding mildly irritated by Chaosdramon's reply. "Well, if you are the NEW leader of Tyrannovalley… then you will have to accept any challenge for the position of ruler, am I right?"

"Are you saying that you are challenging me to a fight?"

"I am glad that we have reached an understanding."

"What makes you think that you will fit in as the ruler of this valley? For generations, the ruler of this valley has always come from the Tyrannomon generation line. Should there be no Tyrannomon to ascend the throne; another digimon of dinosaur origin will be chosen. It is our custom, right Triceramon?"

"Better the lady than you, traitor!" declared Triceramon. This was met with loud murmurs of agreement.

Chaosdramon let out a sickening laugh. "I can't believe it! All of you! You rather pick an outsider to be your ruler… and furthermore, a woman! Very well… if you want it that way, then I shall not fail you. As the leader of this clan, I demand that you show to us of your worthiness of taking over from me. You shall receive ten blows from me, and IF you survive all of them than I will step down willingly."

Lady Sakuyamon was silent after hearing the demand, contemplating her chances quietly inside her mind.

Chaosdramon guffawed while seeing the hesitation of his challenger, knowing that she was not a match for him. No digimon could stand and receive ten blows from him, and remain alive. It would be a short battle for him, and he was half-expecting that the lady challenger would back down and return to her sanctuary. However, he was proved wrong after hearing her response.

"Don't be too sure of yourself, Chaosdramon," warned Lady Sakuyamon and took off onto the air. She stood on the top of the skull of SkullMammothmon, and with the winds blowing her long shining white hair over the red background of the sky and the valley, she looked impressive in the eyes of most digimon of the valley. Some however had doubts of her chances.

"I see that you've made your mind," said Chaosdramon. "But what's in it for you, woman? Why do you interfere with my plan of ruling MY clan? You have been given sanctuary in our domain by our late master, and he had forbid anyone from coming close to the Ivory Citadel where you live now. I'm now offering you a chance to return to your home, and I will obey to our late master's order to stay away from the citadel."

"Your late master also told me to see to it that his clan would always remain in good hands, should I want to repay his deed," said Lady Sakuyamon shortly. "He had handpicked his own successor to ascend to the throne. You on the other hand, are not the rightful one to rule this clan."

Chaosdramon eyed Lady Sakuyamon angrily while thinking, 'I'll have her strong data to add on my own. It'll be an easy fight for me. How foolish of her to think that she can challenge my power, I'm now the strongest Mega digimon alive!' Indeed, he was too confident in himself. After having killed many innocent digimon to strengthen his hold of his Mega form, Chaosdramon felt that no one would be able to defeat him. He would take over Tyrannovalley and then…

"What are you waiting for?" inquired Lady Sakuyamon, interrupting Chaosdramon's trails of thought.

'Damn,' Chaosdramon thought silently. "Well, lady's first."

"Gallantry will get you nowhere, Chaosdramon," replied Lady Sakuyamon, and she begun by waving her feather duster gently into the air.

"What are you doing? Wiping dust off the air?" taunted Chaosdramon, laughing heartily. "That's SOMETHING!"

Lady Sakuyamon merely smiled mysteriously, and suddenly the air around her warped into glowing pink aura with thousands of cherry blossom petals swirling like a blizzard. The flower petals struck Chaosdramon forcefully on all directions, causing the maddened Mega digimon to be pushed several steps backwards.

The effect of the attack surprised Chaosdramon. "How could this be?" he wondered.

"Bonhitsusen!" cried Lady Sakuyamon, and drew a symbol of yin and yang onto the air with her feather duster. The black and white symbol then let out a strong ray of holy white lights which engulfed Chaosdramon, causing him to yell out a surprised cry of pain. As a Virus digimon, Chaosdramon was supposed to be able to withstand any attack caused by Data digimon, but strangely Lady Sakuyamon's attack affected him. There was only one explanation, and judging from his opponent's way of attacking Chaosdramon was completely sure that he was right.

"A holy attack!" said Chaosdramon angrily.

"An attack derived from my Ultimate form's very own, yes. It is holy. In my Ultimate form I was a priestess," said Lady Sakuyamon calmly.

"Curse it!" muttered Chaosdramon, but hid his anger. Holy attack was his weakness, although Chaosdramon wasn't a dark digimon. It was because he had disobeyed the strict rule set by the four Harmonious Ones, he had succumbed into the side of darkness.

Chaosdramon then proceed by attacking Lady Sakuyamon with his Hyper Mugen Cannon. The attack was powerful and was aimed towards where Lady Sakuyamon was hovering. Locking on his target, Chaosdramon maneuvered the cannon to make sure that it would hit Lady Sakuyamon before firing cannonballs made out of raw energy. Lady Sakuyamon had to evade the assault by flying around the sky with great agility, trying her best to defend herself. Her efforts were however futile, as Chaosdramon had programmed the cannonballs not to stop until they had blasted Lady Sakuyamon to death.

"Aha! I knew it," said Chaosdramon triumphantly. "Your power does not match mine's, Lady Sakuyamon! I am much more powerful than you can ever imagine!"

Lady Sakuyamon was stunned to see that the cannonballs were still chasing after her even though she had been doing everything she could to prevent herself from being hit. She already knew for a fact that she wasn't a match for Chaosdramon, but in order to repay the debt she had with Tyrannovalley's former ruler she was willing to fight Chaosdramon, hoping to win the throne back to its rightful successor.

"I can't just defend myself like this," she panted while still evading the attack. "In order to win I have to take the offensive again. Bonhitsusen!"

The attack collided with the zooming cannonballs… and bounced away without affecting the cannonballs in any way. Surprised, Lady Sakuyamon proceeded by firing the same attack again and again, but the result was still the same.

"Two… three… four," said a Pteramon, counting on how much of Lady Sakuyamon's attacks had collided with Chaosdramon's cannonballs.

"Only six more to go," announced ExTyrannomon with vigor. He and the Pteramon were supporting Lady Sakuyamon, as they would certainly not going to welcome a traitor of their clan as their ruler.

"If I heard correctly, didn't the traitor say that the lady would win if she RECEIVES all his ten blows, not the amount of attacks she has used to fend off his attack? By right, Lady Sakuyamon still has not taken ONE blow from him," said Metalgreymon.

"Lady Sakuyamon is not Chaosdramon's match. It would be better if this battle ends quickly," said Triceramon darkly. "She's risking her life to battle Chaosdramon for us."

"Seven… eight…. nine… TEN!" shouted the Pteramon and ExTyrannomon vigorously. "She has taken ten blows from you! Now, go away and leave us with our NEW ruler!" cried Pteramon.

'Fools,' thought Chaosdramon, but he decided not to reply and concentrate on battling Lady Sakuyamon. She was still evading the cannonball launched by him, and it looked like she was going to be weakened if this was prolonged. So, Chaosdramon merely observed Lady Sakuyamon struggling to fend off the programmed cannonball.

"I'm getting really tired of this," he muttered, and fired off another cannonball to fluster his opponent even more.

Lady Sakuyamon now had two preprogrammed cannonballs aiming for her life. She was having a hard time to even defend herself with one cannonball chasing her, let alone two. She would have to take drastic measures now. Flying towards the sky as high as she could, she then took on a meditating stance. Her whole body flared with pure yellow lights, and four fox spirits erupted from her back.

"Spirit Strike!" she announced, and the four foxes representing the elements of fire, water, wind and lightning loomed down to meet the cannonballs. She then focused all her energy towards the spirits, and used them to envelop both cannonballs. The spirits of fire and wind engulf one of the cannonball, and those of water and lightning countered the other. Then, Lady Sakuyamon chanted a haiku, and on her right fingers appeared two talismans in the form of small red papers. Next, she shot both talismans towards the cannonballs. The effect was amazing; one cannonball blazed in a small fire tornado, while the other was electrocuted by lightning from one of the spirit engulfing it. As the result, both cannonballs were destroyed.

'I've dealt two blows from him, and already they took a lot out of me,' thought Lady Sakuyamon. 'I'm not strong enough in this form, if only I could reach my true Mega form, just like…'

Her thoughts were interrupted when Chaosdramon fired off three more cannonballs towards her from down below.

"Amethyst Wind!" she countered, and sent cherry blossoms to counter the cannonballs. However the force from the cannonballs were too strong for the cherry blossoms to handle, and Lady Sakuyamon was already too tired to deal with more attacks again. Thinking fast, Lady Sakuyamon came up with a dangerous, yet a perfect solution.

'It is kamikaze, but hopefully it will work,' she thought, and quickly descended down towards the valley with all three cannonballs following her. Once in a while, the cannonballs were about to hit her but she gracefully evaded them and loomed down even faster. She was heading towards Chaosdramon, who was laughing madly over his easy victory. It didn't occur to the viral digimon that his enemy was getting nearer and nearer to him, and when he did realize it…

"Spirit Strike!"

… he was blasted in close proximity by Lady Sakuyamon's attack, and felt a sudden chill, a burning sensation, and a feeling of being electrocuted crept all over his body before a gust of abnormally strong wind blew his feet away, causing him to fell on his feet. This caused uproar between all the members of Tyranno Clan, and they were cheering on Lady Sakuyamon to go on and defeat him straight-away.

Lady Sakuyamon however stood in silence, as if waiting for the three cannonballs to get near her. When they did, she glided with unrivalled agility and shot straight towards the fallen Chaosdramon. With a wave of her feather duster, she generated a soft, translucent pink sphere around herself covered with glowing cherry blossoms, and went on to stand very, very near on Chaosdramon's cannon.

"How about a taste of your own medicine?" she said with a genuine smile, as the three cannonballs grew nearer.

"No!" exclaimed Chaosdramon, as the three cannonballs loomed down heading towards him. He then realized Lady Sakuyamon's true intention – as she wasn't able to beat off his attacks, she was making him to receive the blows as well. The cannonballs were getting nearer, and he struggled to get on his feet. Unfortunately, he was too heavy and massive and found himself unable to do so.

"Your attacks shall be your own downfall," said Lady Sakuyamon, and she glided away swiftly just as the three cannonballs shot down straight onto where she was formerly standing – his cannon on the back. The other two cannonballs fell onto the nearest area from the cannon – which unfortunately were his head and chest. An earthshaking explosion resulted from the unexpected twist of event. The sheer force from the outburst caused the lady digimon to lose her command over her shielding spell, and catapulting her towards the gathering crowd.

Smokes and fire resulted from it, and stones, splinters of bones and sands were flying in random direction everywhere over the air. Everyone's visions were obscured by the smokes. Lady Sakuyamon then managed to regain control of her shielding spell, and promptly caused it to halt over the air before it collided with the Tyranno Clan members. The air was suffocating, and Lady Sakuyamon feared for the safety of the others who were unprotected. She launched her Amethyst Wind attack again to clear the air and steer away all the flying objects from hitting the other digimon. With the smokes cleared, she saw that Chaosdramon was no longer around; instead it was a severely injured MetalTyrannomon who was lying on a small crater caused by the explosion. His condition was extremely bad, all his limbs seemed to be dysfunctional as it looked dislocated and were bleeding with strange oil-smelled black blood.

"You have lost," said Lady Sakuyamon solemnly.

MetalTyrannomon was too weak to answer, but his eyes still reflected arrogance despite the great pains he was suffering.

"Do you concede defeat?" someone called out from behind Lady Sakuyamon, surprising her slightly. It was Triceramon, the advisor to all ruler of Tyrannovalley. He got no answer.

"By keeping silence, you admit defeat and will pass over the position as ruler to Lady Sakuyamon," he said finally. When no answer came from the treacherous digimon, Triceramon nodded towards Lady Sakuyamon. "Milady, you are now rightfully our ruler."

"No," she said softly, almost sounding like she was whispering. She walked slowly towards MasterTyrannomon, who was standing amongst the crowd.

"Milady, I…" he began, but Lady Sakuyamon raised a hand to stop him.

"It was your former ruler greatest wish to see you ascend the throne of this clan and valley, and to rule it with benevolence and pride. The throne is rightfully yours, MasterTyrannomon."

"But… it is you, milady, that has won the title now, fair and square," sighed MasterTyrannomon. "I don't fit to be a ruler, not when I have been defeated and defied so openly."

"You lack experience, but even the greatest ruler starts badly in the beginning. Look around you, all of your subjects want you to lead them. I may have won the title, but I do not desire it. I am not a member of this clan, although your former master accepts me to live in your sacred citadel."

"But the custom…"

"Should be followed, I know."

MasterTyrannomon nodded, looking down towards the ground.

"But as I will be under solitude, it is my wish that you rule Tyranno Valley in my absence, MasterTyrannomon."

Instantly, MasterTyrannomon's head shot up. "You mean it, milady?"

"Yes, I do mean it. I have no desire to rule, and I am not good at it, because it is not in my nature to do that. I only wish to remain in the Ivory Citadel, and wait for the time when I will be needed again by someone who is so dear to me," said Lady Sakuyamon, her voice sounded remarkably sad at the end. Quickly, she shook her head to brush off her feeling away. "I am sure everyone is happy with this decision. This way, no customs are violated."

MasterTyrannomon knelt before Lady Sakuyamon. "Thank you, milady, I will do my best to rule Tyrannovalley on your behalf."

"I am sure that you will do just fine. You did that before," said Lady Sakuyamon, with a smile that lit up her entire face. She then flew over towards the small crater where MetalTyrannomon was, and landed not too far from him.

"In order to make sure that he will not be a threat to us again, I will strip MetalTyrannomon off his power," announced Lady Sakuyamon. She waved her feather duster and surrounded MetalTyrannomon with cherry blossoms, and chanted a spell. All the injuries on the cyborg digimon's body were instantly healed, but then glowing pink data particles began to leave his body. With an intense flash of pink light, MetalTyrannomon was no more and in his place was an Agumon – a red Agumon with dark grey eyes to be exact.

"Be gone, traitor," ordered Lady Sakuyamon.

Agumon glared at Lady Sakuyamon and MasterTyrannomon, infuriated of losing all his power to digivolve to his Mega form.

"One day, I will return!" he shouted, and ran off quickly from the valley. Some of the younger digimon of the clan chased him out all the way to the gate. With him gone, Lady Sakuyamon left for Ivory Citadel to her solitude, and the rest of Tyranno Clan finally got their peace again.

* * *

It was getting really dark inside the Cave of Illusions as Ken walked deeper into the heart of the cave. Holding Wormmon with one hand, Ken used his other hand to wipe off the sweat that was trailing down his face. The temperature was hot but the air was humid inside the cave. Squinting his eyes, he tried his best to make out where he was going and to avoid his head from hitting the low and narrow cave.

"I don't remember the roof being this low," muttered Ken. "But then again, it was years ago since I've been here and I was so much shorter back then."

His voice echoed all over the cave. Ken groaned, and decided to have a short rest for a while. It had been nearly an hour since he departed from Yolei and Hawkmon back at the entrance of the cave, and Ken's feet was sore from walking non-stop. Looking at Wormmon who seemed to be undisturbed from his deep slumber, Ken sighed softly and felt his partner's skin. It was still too cold to be normal, and some trails of frosts were still there.

"Hang in there, Wormmon," he whispered. "It's not really far ahead, I hope."

Ken was about to resume his journey when he detected a faint source of light coming from the darkest part of the cave. Someone was coming over to his direction. At first, Ken thought of hiding himself and Wormmon in fear of probably meeting a wild digimon who would attack them even when unprovoked. Then he remembered that this cave he was in only permitted those who were good to be inside, so whoever was coming, it would certainly not going to be evil. However, he decided to distance himself from Wormmon just to be safe – he didn't want anyone to get on hold to Wormmon should there was a digimon with evil intention coming towards them.

"Hello? Is someone there?" Ken called out.

The lights were getting clearer, and from the reflections coming from the walls and the roof of the cave, Ken concluded that the source of the light could probably be a flaming torch. It looked like it was flickering, judging from the way the lights were moving about. He then heard footsteps, which sounded so much human, or at least, a human-like digimon. The footsteps didn't sound too strong; it was like the light steps Ken would usually use when he was walking. A reflection of a human figure loomed over the walls of the cave, and it seemed to Ken that whoever was coming to him, it was probably about Ken's size as well. The thought of that made him relaxed much more.

But his head quickly shot up when he heard silent laughs coming from the direction where the stranger he was anticipating to see was. He recognized the voice, only that he didn't think that he would be hearing again. Blood drained from his face when he saw a familiar figure, wearing a midnight blue cape with yellow linings and a blue suit of clothes. The figure was human, and had locks of spiky violet-black hair. His eyes were covered by large violet glasses with yellow frames.

"Hello, Ken," the newcomer greeted in an over-made polite voice.

"The Digimon Emperor!"

* * *

-

-

Author's Note:

Sorry it took me more than a month to update this fic. I've been continuously writing and editing this chapter, and some of you might notice that this chapter is quite long compared to its previous chapters. Some of you may be happy with the return of Kuzuhamon, and take note that I've changed her attack name to "_Reverse Spirit Strike_". I wrote them as only "_Spirit Strike_" in Chapter 12: Of Foxes and Fire. This is in conjunction with the Japanese names of Sakuyamon and Kuzuhamon's attacks, which are "_Rice Cord_" and "_Reverse Rice Cord_" respectively. However I retained the name of the second attack which is "_Amethyst Wind_", simply because I liked it although I wanted to use "_Womb Mandala_" at first. Hopefully you will enjoy this chapter as much as I'm enjoying writing it.

**_DTV_** – Thanks for the lengthy review. Yes, I have to admit that I don't know much about Duskmon and Velgamon as I haven't watched Frontier yet, so I'm really thankful for you supplying the attack names for these two characters. I did see the review of the Digimon X upcoming movie, and I'm excited as well. I like the new approach of the producer making a full-length CGI movie on Digimon, the graphics are absolutely superb. In my opinion they should make a brand new series of digimon using CGI.

**_Quinton Norwen_** – A new reviewer! Thanks for your thoughtful review. The few recent chapters of both Vengeance and Legends of the Digidestined have been corrected of the 'plural' flaws, so you will see only digimon as both singular and plural terms. About the side quests, I find that if I don't write some of it then the whole story will have a huge gaping hole by the end of the series. Although I admit that some of them are unnecessarily long. I'm working on making the side stories relatively shorter than the main plot… perhaps this chapter will have the longest side story before it will move on to the most major plot. I'll try my best. About the Piedmon thingy, I didn't watch the American dubbed version so I don't really have a clue on how Piedmon speaks, but thanks for the input. Yes, this story will DEFINITELY need cleaning up, I'll do that after I've finished writing this series.

**_  
Lodis Lord_** – Hey, you're back! Thanks for reviewing and for the comments. As for your question, I'd say that it won't be too long now. Keep on reading.

Latest update: February 20, 2005 – Thanks to Dark Qiviut for pointing out the huge problem this chapter is having. I tried to reupload this chapter, and the fanfiction(dot)net's editor program made a huge mess to the story by joining all the sentences together in one huge paragraph.


	24. The Trial of Kindness, part III

_**VENGEANCE**_

_**Chapter 23 – The Trial of Kindness, Part III**_

_**--------------------------------------------------------------------------**_

Ken felt as if his blood had gone cold. In front of him was his former self; the evil personification of himself whom he thought he would never see again. The Digimon Emperor was standing there, with a cool expression and a sneer on his face. His right hand was seen holding a whip which was familiar to Ken. It was the whip which Ken used to whip Wormmon and other digimon when he was the emperor.

"You... you're not real!" Ken sputtered disbelievingly.

The Digimon Emperor walked confidently towards Ken, causing the latter to take a few steps back.

"You're wrong, Ken," the emperor said smoothly, still smiling his haunted smile. His voice echoed all over the cave, which caused Ken to cower slightly. The effect was commanding and impressive at the same time. It was the tone Ken recognized as his own, while he was the emperor.

"I am as real as you are," the emperor continued. "I am real, flesh and blood. If you don't think you can believe me, perhaps you will when I..." The emperor unsheathed the whip from its blue placeholder, revealing a sharp pointed blade. Ken never even knew that his former whip had a hidden blade, and was surprised. Taking out the glove of his left-side hand, the emperor proceeded by piercing his palm with the blade, and red blood began to trickle from the thin line formed by the blade. Ken let out a soft gasp, but the emperor, still bearing the smile which Ken began to find as sickening, wiped the blood with his right gloved hand. Instantly the wound was healed.

"How can this be?" Ken wondered. "It can't be... because I'm you. I was you, I was the Digimon Emperor. How can you be here, when I'm here?"

"Tsk, tsk," said the emperor. "Hear yourself out, Ken; you're not making any sense. It's such a shame for a boy genius like you to speak in such manner. I wonder what your late brother would say about this. Or, what your girlfriend would say about this? I bet they would laugh themselves out when they hear that."

Ken's face flushed. "You leave them out of this," he growled.

The emperor nodded. "I would, you know. But..." The emperor snapped his finger and grinned. From the shadows two figures stepped out, both were familiar to Ken. A boy and a girl, and both had lavender hair. "I don't think they would agree."

"He's right, Kenny boy," the boy spoke out. "You're not making any sense."

"Sam..." Ken whispered hoarsely. "It can't be. You're... you're...."

"Dead?" Sam cut in, his violet eyes glinting from the lights cast from the emperor's body. "Is that what you've wished for me, Kenny boy? I loved you, and you wished me dead? I tried to be a good big brother for you. I know sometimes I make mistakes to you. But never, not even once, that it occurred to me that you're a burden to me. Never. I always think of you as my gentle and kind little brother, whom I thought I should protect. That was why I didn't want you to touch that strange device that appeared from my computer last time. You on the other hand disobeyed me. I thought I should punish you, and I am sorry for that... but then you wished me DEAD, and I've NEVER had the chance to rectify my mistake. How could you?! "

"No! I didn't mean it!" Ken said desperately as he dropped on his knees. Tears began to form on his eyes; Sam's accusations pained him deeply. What Sam had just said to him was true, more or less. "I didn't mean it, I swear it. I never wanted you to die."

"Oh save it, Ichijouji," the girl with lavender hair snapped. "What a baby. To think that I actually liked you! Hah! I would never love a wimp like you! Davis, TK, or Cody is far BETTER than you, and they stand on their own! You... why, if it weren't for the Dark Spore, you're NOTHING! I should just go back to the others and tell all of them to ditch you from the team."

"Yolei..." said Ken softly, no longer bothering to stop his tears from flowing. "Why are you saying this?"

Yolei laughed loudly, and Ken cringed. Her laughter wasn't like any of what he'd heard before. It was a dark and evil laughter which Ken thought would never come out from Yolei. He would have believed it if HE was the one who laughed like that; he'd heard that coming from the emperor, and he also had heard it during the times when he was one as well. But never from Yolei. Not ever. Ken was reminded of his conversation with Yolei outside the cave. Yolei was encouraging him, and she was sympathetic of his past. The girl who was standing in front of him was an exact opposite stranger with Yolei's face. Thinking of this made Ken got up to his feet again.

"That's right," Yolei sneered. "Go back, and take that worthless worm partner of your with you."

"SHUT UP!!" Ken shouted, and Yolei's expression contorted into a look of surprise. "You're not Yolei! The Yolei I know is a caring girl, a girl worth to be the bearer of Love and Sincerity. You... you're just a spiteful stranger who looks like her. The real Yolei was waiting for me outside. She encouraged me while you insulted me. You're not her! You're the one who should go back to wherever you came from!" Ken quickly wiped away his tears and his face glowed with confidence. He then smiled slightly as he watched Yolei's figure becoming more and more transparent, until she vanished in the shadows.

"And Sam," Ken said softly, turning toward Sam. "I truly deserve your accusations. But I've never wanted you dead; I was just overwhelmed with emotions when you hit me... it was the first time you hit me remember? In truth, I always looked up to you, and still am now. Mom and dad miss you too, and there's never a day gone by without us thinking about you. And... remember the World of Dreams? You appeared to me..."

Before he could finish his words, Sam Ichijouji smiled and raised a hand to stop him.

"Take care of yourself, Kenny boy," he said softly, and disappeared in the same manner as Yolei was before, leaving Ken feeling dazed and content.

The Digimon Emperor however, wasn't finished. While Ken was distracted with what appeared to be apparitions of Sam and Yolei, he had sneaked past Ken and retrieved the unconscious Wormmon. Gliding without being noticed back to the place he was standing earlier, he was there just in time as Ken averted his attention towards him. Fixing a grin on his face, the emperor held Wormmon close to him and called out to his good persona.

"Well, well, well. Look what I have here. Someone's been leaving a partner behind."

Ken was shocked to see that his helpless partner was in his evil persona's hand. "Put him down!"

"I don't think so, Ken. You see, my whip has been deprived of its pleasure, which is whipping other digimon. Isn't that your favorite pastime when you were me, Ken? Whipping poor Wormmon even though he had done nothing wrong?"

"No! Don't you dare!" Ken warned. "Don't you dare hurt Wormmon." Then, his face grew solemn as he looked at his fallen partner. "He's been through so much. I've done him wrong too much in the past. If you really want to whip someone really badly, then whip me instead."

This shocked the emperor. "You... are willing to do that? For him? For this _worm_?"

"Yes," Ken answered with full determination.

"My pleasure!" boomed the emperor, and he hurled the whip towards Ken. The bearer of Kindness was stunned to feel the whip slapping on his face, and pierced his very skin. The pain was agonizing, and Ken could feel blood trickling down his face. The emperor then proceeded by pounding Ken on the body, hands and feet, slashing through the light shirt and trousers he was wearing, and caused cuts to form on various places on his body and extremities. Ken lost his balance and instantly tumbled on the floor. However, not once did he let out a cry of pain. It was then he realized how digimon had felt when he had whipped them. His heart sank when he realized how Wormmon must have felt when he was whipped.

"Why are you doing this? Why are you sacrificing yourself for him?" the emperor demanded as he whipped Ken again and again continuously without showing any trace of mercy. "This is incongruous! You are a human, a far more superior being than this insignificant digimon! Ask me to stop, and I will stop beating you and go for Wormmon. He deserves to be whipped! A lowly creature such as he..."

"You're wrong! "shouted Ken defiantly, as he began to see things in a new light. While it was true that he deserved to receive the beatings, he was no longer the emperor. It was the emperor who did all the bad things. Ken was no longer the emperor, but he saw someone who truly deserved to be whipped. And so, when the whip was hurled again towards him, Ken raised his right hand into the air and felt the whip coiling around his fist. Immediately he pulled his hand back towards him and managed to jerk the whip out from the emperor's hand.

"Why you..." snarled the emperor angrily.

Ken quickly got up to his feet, and quickly wiped away the sweat and blood on his face. His face was set, and for once in a long time, his violet eyes turned cold as well. The whip was now in his hands.

"We'll see who deserves the whipping more now," said Ken dangerously. "I'll show you how proper whipping is done!" With the whip, Ken now gained the upper hand and he begun whipping the emperor. At first the emperor was momentarily dazed, but he quickly regained his composure and rolled on the ground to avoid the whip. Swiftly, he took out a knife from his boot, and rolled towards where he had put Wormmon. He grabbed Wormmon and aimed the knife towards Wormmon's head.

"Don't come any closer, or poor Wormmon will suffer the fate of your foolishness!" the emperor, also now bruised and battered, warned. "Don't you think I could end Wormmon's life right now? I have the means. Even though you decide to try and take Wormmon away, I'll always be quicker to sink this knife into his body. Even though he is a good digimon, there's still a chance for him not to get reconfigured. For all we know, the rules might work differently in this cave. "

"No! Don't do it!" shouted Ken frantically. "Don't do it, please! I.. I'll do anything! Take me instead!"

The emperor gasped upon hearing it. "You... would sacrifice yourself for him? Even your life?"

Ken nodded. The emperor shimmered upon receiving Ken's silent answer, and without any warning, he burst into million bits of data. The data of the emperor swirled around Ken and healed all his injuries inflicted from the whippings. His clothes remained torn, but the injuries were no longer there.

"_Well done, child of Kindness! You have certainly proved your worth. Proceed to the heart of the cave and undo what you have done long ago."_

It was the same voice that had spoken to him at the entrance of the Cave of Illusions. Ken was slightly baffled to learn that all things that he had been through were just a test. However he was glad when the mysterious voice had referred to him as the child of Kindness, as it had questioned Ken earlier whether Ken deserved the virtue of Kindness. He retrieved Wormmon quickly and walked deep into the cave, which was towards the heart of the cave. As if knowing his way, Ken guided himself successfully towards his destination, owing to the sense of familiarity he was feeling right now. Somehow, the cave didn't seem to be so dark anymore, and Ken could see where he was going. Ken mused about this silently, but the reason of the sudden visibility then made itself apparent. Not far from where he was, the walls of the cave were lit with torches.

"The heart of the cave," Ken murmured to himself.

Indeed, Ken had reached the end of the line. He was now inside a circular chamber, with the torches hanging in one line around the chamber, enlightening the cave with soft yellow and red lights. Scrolls of ancient digimon alphabets were seen hanging, and there was a small rocky fountain in the middle of the chamber. A bizarre stone formation which looked almost humanoid was seen beside the fountain. Upon closer inspection, Ken realized that it wasn't just a stone, but...

His memories began to rush back and he remembered the day clearly. Bringing the vial Duskmon had given him, Ken made his way successfully inside the cave. He encountered the guardian of the cave, and had splashed it with the contents of the vial. Instantly, the guardian who was also a digimon solidified and turned into stone. Ken gasped in horror of what he'd done, and for a while he froze in his track. Then, he saw what he was looking for, and retrieved it quickly before fleeing the cave tearfully.

"The guardian of the cave," whispered Ken as he stood in front of the tall frozen digimon. The guardian resembled Stingmon, but was not as tall. "I am sorry for what I've done to you. I don't know how to restore you back... but I'm willing to do whatever it takes to do so. If I'm given the chance, if I can turn back time, I would stop myself from doing this to you. I am so sorry." Ken felt tears stung his eyes again, realizing that he had ripped an innocent digimon of a chance to be reconfigured again after turning it into stone.

"You don't deserve this fate," continued Ken sorrowfully. "If it can be done, then I willingly will exchange place with you. I deserve it."

Suddenly, Ken's Diginizer of Kindness ignited with violet lights. The virtue of Kindness materialized from it, and the same symbol appeared on the chest of the frozen digimon. It then shimmered, and slowly reverted back into its living form. The digimon's resemblance to Stingmon was obvious, save for the color of the armor, which was light green in color with red and yellow jewels embedded on many places. The armor covering both its hands had long pointed claws which went past its humanlike hands. This digimon had long white hair flowing down its back, and by its appearance Ken realized that this digimon was female and human based, which was evident from the face visible underneath her insectoid mask. She was indeed an impressive-looking digimon, and stood tall twice Ken's height. She held a long staff with a red star-shaped blade attached on top of it.

**----------------- DIGIMON ANALYZER ------------------  
Name** : Jewelbeemon  
**Attribute** : Vaccine  
**Level** : Ultimate  
**Type** : Warrior  
**Specialty** : Flying  
  
**Attacks **: Spike Buster, Shot Claw  
**Power Level** : 67

Jewelbeemon is thought to be the feminine subsidiary of Stingmon's digivolutionary line. With the _Spike Buster_, Jewelbeemon wields her staff until the spiked star emblem glows and thrust the staff towards the enemy. Using her long-range _Shot Claw_ technique Jewelbeemon could blast any enemy from afar with rays of concentrated red and yellow energy beams.

**-------------------------------------------------------------**

"The child of Kindness," Jewelbeemon said, acknowledging Ken's presence. Her voice was soft, calm yet strong. "Finally, you have undone all your wrongs in the past. I am glad to meet you."

"You're not mad at me?" Ken asked, astonished with Jewelbeemon's attitude which suggested that she held no grudge against Ken. "After all I've done to you, turning you into stone for... three years?"

Jewelbeemon smiled while maintaining her calm demeanor. "An act done out of ignorance is not merit of punishment. After all, I do not think that you are to blame completely. You were under a bad influence that fateful day, I could sense it. I have been watching you from the moment you have stepped into the cave, Ken Ichijouji. Even in my frozen state earlier, I maintained my consciousness. The voice you are hearing is the spirit of the cave's voice, and he is my eyes and ears while I am frozen. Now that you have set me free, the spirit is one with me again, as it was separated from me when I was frozen. I have to say that I am proud of you. You are willing to sacrifice yourself time and time again for the safety of your partner. You are certainly worthy of carrying the virtue of Kindness."

Ken was enthralled to hear the praise coming from Jewelbeemon, but his expression faltered when he realized that there was one more thing that he needed to set right to. As if reading his thought, Jewelbeemon motioned for Ken to hold Wormmon up. She held Wormmon with her left palm, and touched Ken's Diginizer with another and became silent. Violet aura glowed from her body and was transferred into Wormmon's freezing body. Ken suddenly felt his partner became warmer gradually, and was ecstatic when Wormmon finally opened his eyes again.

"Wormmon! Thank goodness you're alright!" said Ken happily and hugged his partner.

"Ken? What's going on?" came Wormmon's muffled reply as he was crushed under the pressure of Ken's hug. As Ken released him from the hug, the worm digimon was appalled to see that Ken's clothes were torn in various places.

"Ken, what happened to you? Have you been in a fight?"

Ken smiled. "That's a long story, Wormmon. I'll tell you about it later."

"Ahem," said Jewelbeemon, drawing the attention of the happy duo.

"Woah, Ken. Who is she?" Wormmon asked, evidently awed by the impressive digimon who was standing before him. "She looks just like me, when I'm Stingmon. I've never seen her around before. "

"This is Jewelbeemon," Ken introduced. "She's the one who cured you, and she's also the guardian of this cave."

"Really? Thank you, Jewelbeemon. And it's a pleasure to meet you," said Wormmon politely.

Jewelbeemon nodded with what seemed like an amused smirk on her face. "The pleasure is all mine, Wormmon. But listen here, the two of you. Ken, to whom you have given the prophecy of time when you took it from here? It is imperative that the prophecy does not fall in the wrong hands."

Ken's face fell slightly. "I've given it to Duskmon; he's the one who has brought me here. Just recently, all of us were involved in a fight with him. He calls himself Chaos Specter, and he has captured the four Harmonious Ones not too long ago. We don't know what he wants from them."

"You have just fought him?" asked Jewelbeemon, and Ken nodded. "Our situation is precarious now. It is evident for now that this Chaos Specter does not have the right means yet to activate the prophecy. Can you take me to him?"

"Do you want to fight him?" asked Ken. "It's very dangerous. He's gotten incredibly strong."

"He must be stopped," said Jewelbeemon solemnly. "I can't do this alone. Will you help me?"

Ken and Wormmon looked at each other. Then Ken spoke up. "Of course we'll help you. It's my fault in the first place that the prophecy has fallen into his hands. But... I'm afraid the two of us are not strong enough to aid you. Among the six of us, only three of us could digivolve our partners into Ultimate level by using the method of Transdigivolution. The two of us still haven't got the chance to Transdigivolve yet."

"What must you do in order to achieve this Transdigivolution?" asked Jewelbeemon curiously.

"Well... I'm not sure. A friend of mine, Kari, managed to activate it as soon as we received our Diginizers. TK and Patamon reached Ultimate level during the whole Devimon fiasco. Davis and Veemon became Paildramon from the powers of the three Minomon from Harmona," Ken answered thoughtfully. "And Wormmon... digivolved into Deathbeemon when I used the Crest of Kindness, but the digivolution was corrupted because of my anger. It happened before to a friend of ours, Tai and his partner Agumon. Because he forced Agumon to digivolve, Agumon became SkullGreymon instead of MetalGreymon. When I was the emperor, I managed to tap in Agumon's darker side and made him digivolve into SkullGreymon again."

"I hope I don't digivolve into Deathbeemon again, Ken," said Wormmon with a shudder. "I still remember the feeling, and it's not good."

Ken twitched slightly upon hearing the innocent comment from his partner. "I sure hope not too, Wormmon. But something came to my mind just now; My crest had exploded and formed an arrow leading me here. It seems like I were meant to accomplish a kind of quest. Now that the quest is fulfilled... maybe we can tap into your _real_ Ultimate level, Wormmon."

Jewelbeemon nodded in agreement. "I believe so too. When I touched your Diginizer, I could feel the presence of a strange power inside of it which I am not familiar of. I know how it feels to digivolve, and the power felt like it too... but something is different. That power had freed me from my stone imprisonment in the first place. If I am not mistaken, you have already tapped into the power of Kindness after what you have shown to all of us today. If it is true, then you can digivolve."

"Let's try it then, shall we Wormmon?" asked Ken.

"Well I... don't know. But I trust you and Jewelbeemon. Let's do it then, Ken," answered Wormmon.

"Diginizer Activate!" Ken pressed the first button on his Diginizer, and to their surprise the device reacted by releasing bursts of lavender light around Ken and Wormmon. The symbol of Kindness materialized in the air around them as they were surrounded by a vortex of swirling colors in different shades of violet. Within seconds, Ken and Wormmon became purple silhouettes as they began merging together into one.

**:: Transdigivolution Activate ::**

"Wormmon Digivolve to..."

Within seconds, Wormmon's silhouette transformed into Stingmon and in the background, the apparition of Exveemon swirled around him. The apparition burst into data particles and Stingmon absorbed it. His size increased and he took on a hunching posture as his arms underwent a metamorphosis, turning into Exveemon's muscular arms. Then, Exveemon's draconic white wings erupted from his back and the dragon's tail shot out from his behind. This new digimon looked like a bizarre mix of Stingmon and Exveemon, and judging from first sight it was apparent that Stingmon appeared to be more dominant should the two had DNA Digivolved. Flapping his wings, he let out sounds of buzzes like that of insects but gave a loud dragon-like roar as he announced his name.

"Dinobeemon!"

* * *

Chaos Specter walked in slowly inside the throne room of the Velvet Claw without alerting Catrina, who was sleeping on a large velvet maroon cushion beside the throne. His normally neat pale face was dirty, his jet-black hair was slightly disheveled and his outfit had a few tears all over resulted from his scuffle with the Digidestined earlier. He would have won the battle, but the combined powers of the three Ultimate digimon were stronger than he had expected. The sudden appearance of Deathbeemon who went berserk was the least expected part of the outcome.

Walking past the throne room, Chaos Specter headed into his private chamber which was behind a large yellow door. Pushing the handle slightly, the formerly dark room was instantly lit all over with faint yellow lights. The room was fully carpeted with dark maroon velvet carpet, and on the center of the room was a large king-sized bed with maroon covers and black pillows. Almost everything inside the room was decorated with the same color scheme, with the exception of the wall which he had left as dark grey – the color of the walls of the interior side of the fortress.

He walked over to the wall which had a large mirror hanging, he dismantled the cape he was wearing and the upper part of the garment he was wearing in order to inspect the wounds inflicted on him during the battle. There was a slight wound on his chest, and another one on the abdomen, both being only superficial types of wounds. Seeing the wounds served as a reminder to Chaos Specter that despite his command over digimon and awesome technology of the Digital World, he was still human. He was not like Gennai who was born in the Digital World, thus was composed of data in the same manner as digimon were. Reflecting old times, which seemed to be a very long time ago that it barely appear as fragments in his minds, Chaos Specter thought that something had come over to his mind momentarily, but disappeared just as soon as it appeared. Shrugging it off, he cleaned himself up, treated all wounds and changed into a different outfit. It was a long-sleeved leather suit and outfit, with silver-grey durable armors covering his shoulders, chest and abdomen. Then, he walked out from his room and went straight towards the throne room, and sat on the throne.

"Chaos-AI, what is the status for the experimentation on that Demidevimon?" he asked the computers of the fortress.

The large screen flickered and then showed three tubes full of green water, containing digimon. The tubes on the sides contained Pharaohmon, whom he had defeated and captured from the Protocol Ruins, and Wargreymon, originally his prized servant Chaos Wargreymon. The tube at the center formally contained Demidevimon, but apparently it had undergone a digivolution.

"_The subject has successfully digivolved into Champion level Devidramon during your absence. Health status is one hundred percent."_

"Call upon Datamon to me at once, I wish to speak with him."

"_Affirmed. Command initiated. Command is successful, Datamon is on the line."_

The screen flickered again, showing Datamon. He had been assigned by Chaos Specter to monitor the growth of the Demidevimon and to make sure that the digimon was growing properly in accordance with his plan.

"Datamon, have you been able to extract the Zeed Crystal from that Wargreymon's body?" asked Chaos Specter.

"No... it's practically impossible to do so master. I'm sorry, but the crystal is too strongly embedded on his body, not only in his armor. I have tried draining his power and transferred it to Demidevimon up until his digivolution, hoping that the crystal would be separated from Wargreymon's body. It didn''t work, this Wargreymon is too powerful. There's no other way but to force a DNA Digivolution between Wargreymon and Devidramon to get what you wanted, master," replied Datamon nervously.

"Only do it when Devidramon has reached his Ultimate stage or higher, Datamon. We have to make sure that Devidramon will advance to Kimeramon."

"Do you want me to compile the necessary information from the digimon used to create Kimeramon, master?"

"There is no need to do so, Datamon. Didn't I tell you that Devidramon has already been injected with the digital DNA blood sample from Neodevimon? Neodevimon's blood has already contaminated with Kimeramon's data when he tried to use Kimeramon's body as a means to escape the Dark Whirlpool?"

"You did, master. I was merely suggesting it as a precaution."

"There's no need to waste our time for that. Neodevimon's blood within Devidramon is reliable enough. Just do everything as I say and everything will turn out perfectly."

With the final command already been issued, Chaos Specter disconnected the communication link between the throne room and the Protocol Ruins where he had set up a workplace for Datamon to monitor his experiment. Sighing, he commanded Chaos-AI to display the prophecy of time again on the computer screen. He then brooded over the words, trying to figure out what the whole prophecy actually meant. The first verse was currently displayed over the screen, and Chaos Specter read them over silently.

_The creation of darkness and time_

_The fusion of machine and mutant_

"This part simply means Milleniummon. Proceed with the second verse."

_The power to transcend time_

_Despite countless downfall_

_It shall always return_

_Unbeatable and undaunted_

_It will always prevail_

'Milleniummon has the power to transcend over time. He has been known to fail so many times, but after each failure he always managed to return back to power. Who would have thought that he was actually the partner of a lone Digidestined from another dimension? That Akiyama boy had somehow DNA digivolved Zeed Milleniummon and that rookie digimon he'd met in the past and came up with a digi-egg. From what I've heard, the boy has already tamed the digimon, who is quite feral due to the effect of having Zeed Milleniummon within him. However, somehow I suspect that Milleniummon knew the outcome of the battle even before he sent that boy into the past. Somehow he had foreseen his defeat, and created a crystal containing apart of himself. It was like a smaller version of himself, as he was already Moon Milleniummon then.'

"Proceed with the final verse."

_One weakness it does possess_

_Is within its greatest enemy_

_One with the same power_

_One of the opposite side_

_When four greatest join as one_

_Come forth the savior of time_

'This verse is most confusing. I've never heard of any digimon who has the same power as Milleniummon. There is Clockmon... but he's too insignificant and as far as I know, he cannot control time completely. He only keeps track of time. Milleniummon's weakness lies within its greatest enemy... that's the Akiyama boy again as far as I know; he was Milleniummon's greatest enemy and also his one weakness. Given these two sentences to stand on their own, it could mean Akiyama, but then the following sentences make it sound like it is not Akiyama. **One with the same power**... I don't think Akiyama could even stand a chance against Milleniummon on his own, so this sentence cancels him out. **One of the opposite side**... evil's opposite is good. **When four greatest join as one**... it could be the four Harmonious Ones, I have them in my hand already although I'm not sure of what actually to be done with them. So far I'm progressing quite well without them. **Come forth the savior of time**... no one knows about that one.'

"_MetalTyrannomon has been located. Awaiting command to display location on screen."_

This interrupted Chaos Specter's train of thoughts and sparked his interest immediately.

"MetalTyrannomon? I've almost forgotten about him. Display his location on screen."

A map materialized in the screen and MetalTyrannomon's location was marked with an X. It was somewhere at the south-east quadrant of the East Sector. As Chaos Specter have already learnt about the location of Tyrannovalley from MetalTyrannomon, he could easily deduce that MetalTyrannomon had come from his valley. For a while, Chaos Specter wondered what could MetalTyrannomon been doing inside the valley where he was already labeled as traitor. Chaos Specter hadn't made up his mind yet on when to attack Tyrannovalley, mainly because he didn't have any particular interest upon the valley of dinosaur digimon.

"Turn the map into full picture."

Chaos-AI complied with the command and showed MetalTyrannomon, who was actually a red Agumon now, running from the gate of Tyrannovalley with a horde of dinosaur digimon chasing after him. He looked like he was unable to fight back, which made Chaos Specter wonder of the reason. With the power as a Chaos Force member, MetalTyrannomon should be more than able to dispose the lesser digimon who were chasing after him. He could even digivolve into Mega level. Something must have happened to him while he was at the valley, which left him powerless.

"With Chaos Wargreymon's betrayal, it's about time for me to find a suitable replacement. And MetalTyrannomon will be a fine choice."

* * *

"Look out!"

The cry of warning coming from Angewomon came at just the right time. MagnaAngemon, who was preoccupied with holding the Gate of Destiny intact, didn't realize the incoming attack. Quickly he positioned the gate to be placed right in front of him and Kuzuhamon to protect themselves from the attack; MagnaAngemon doubted that he could counter the attack alone. Chaos Seadramon's attack shot into the Gate of Destiny, and suddenly the gate glowed brighter with violet aura as it swallowed the energy beam. Winds of cherry blossom petals began to generate around the yellow laser beam, and a pulling force was generated from the gate as it took more and more energy beam.

Chaos Seadramon was aghast. He had drew out a large portion of his power to attack the Digidestined, but it didn't work out. MagnaAngemon and Kuzuhamon had thwarted his plans. He had to think of another way. MagnaAngemon, he decided, was the current biggest threat with his Gate of Destiny still hovering in mid air. And so he planned to take down MagnaAngemon first.

"Giga Ice Blast!" he roared, spraying the archangel digimon with a ray of powerful ice blast. Once again MagnaAngemon positioned the gate to protect himself, but to his horror the ice blast diverged before hitting the gate. Then, it enveloped the whole Gate of Destiny, and froze it completely before bursting it into data particles.

"Oh no!" cried MagnaAngemon, feeling aghast.

"Oh yes," said Chaos Seadramon evilly. "Without that gate, you're no longer a threat for me! River of Power!"

The attack launched by the Chaos General was too quick; MagnaAngemon didn't have the time to fly away at all. His life was in danger and he would end up as the gate if he didn't do something. Then he felt something was pulling him backwards just as the attack was about to hit him. He had to close his eyes, but when nothing happened MagnaAngemon forced himself to open his eyes again. He saw that he was inside a transparent dome, standing on a circular platform designed in a pattern he recognized as a tai-chi. He had seen the pattern back home. Standing beside him was a digimon whom he had never seen before. The digimon looked like a cross between a fox in a garb that of a Taoist priestess which he had seen inside one of his books. The fox had light purple fur, and something about it was familiar to MagnaAngemon.

"I am Doumon, the Ultimate form of Kuzuhamon," the fox-priestess introduced herself quickly. "I can no longer maintain my Mega level after giving out all my energy to you, and I had reversed a step back to my Ultimate form."

**----------------- DIGIMON ANALYZER ------------------  
Name** : Doumon  
**Attribute** : Virus  
**Level** : Ultimate  
**Type** : Priestess  
**Specialty : **Flying, Spell-casting  
  
**Attacks **: Demon Gate Escape, Spell Prohibition Paper  
**Power Level** : 68

Doumon is a master of onmyou magic and she excels in curses and assassination. Her _Demon Gate Escape_ can be used as portals for her to travel to any place she desires, as well as a means for escape when she is overwhelmed by an enemy. Using her _Spell Prohibition Paper_ technique, Doumon unleashes a wide array of attacks by using paper talisman which would act according to her desire, but is most effective against wizard digimon where her technique would nullify any spell cast by the enemies.

**-------------------------------------------------------------**

"Thanks for saving me, Doumon," MagnaAngemon said gratefully.

Doumon nodded, and with a flick of her sleeve, which was too long for her, she pulled in Angewomon and Paildramon as well. The dome-barrier magically expanded to accommodate Paildramon's bigger size. Both had seen Kuzuhamon de-digivolved earlier and had learnt of her identity through their digimon analyzer.

"What now?" asked Angewomon despairingly.

"I can hold on for only a while," said Doumon. "I am not strong enough to stop Chaos Seadramon, especially when I am no longer in my Mega form."

"We have to go out and fight again. We can't let that overgrown snake win!" said Paildramon. "I'm going out!" Before anyone could stop him, Paildramon shot through the barrier and hovered outside, ready to fight Chaos Seadramon again.

"That Davis..." Angewomon groaned and leapt out as well, leaving MagnaAngemon and Doumon.

"Do you have any plans to stop Chaos Seadramon?" MagnaAngemon asked.

"No, I afraid not," replied Doumon. "But I will help you fight." With a flick of her sleeve again, the dome disappeared and they joined the others.

Chaos Seadramon roared in laughter. "When will you fools learn that I am invincible?" he demanded.

"We'll do whatever it takes to stop you!" Paildramon shot back defiantly.

All of a sudden, a burst of lavender lights exploded in mid-air somewhere above them. Three figures emerged from the lights; one of them was a familiar eagle whom the Digidestined recognized as Aquilamon, and the other two were newcomers with both of them resembled Stingmon in one way or another.

"The cavalry has arrived!" announced Aquilamon.

"Hey guys!" cried Yolei, who was riding Aquilamon. "Ken and Wormmon have Transdigivolve too!"

All of them were stunned to hear the news and observed the two newcomers closely. At first glance, it was quite hard to guess which one was Wormmon as the two bore close resemblances with him. And so they resorted to analyze the two digimon.

**----------------- DIGIMON ANALYZER ------------------  
Name** : Dinobeemon  
**Attribute** : Virus  
**Level** : Ultimate  
**Type** : Warrior  
**Specialty** : Flying, Speed  
  
**Attacks **: Irritant Buzz, Hell Masquerade, Spiking Strike, Moon Shooter, Insect Antenna  
**Power Level** : 78

Dinobeemon is the masculine offshoot of Stingmon's digivolutionary line, and would be the result of the DNA Digivolution between Stingmon and Exveemon, with the former being dominant. Dinobeemon releases a concentrated amount of hypersonic waves from his mouth with his _Irritant Buzz_, and is able to make duplicates of himself to overwhelm his enemy using his _Hell Masquerade_ technique. By the method of Transdigivolution, Dinobeemon also has his Champion self's techniques at his disposal.

**-------------------------------------------------------------**

"Awesome! Dinobeemon is way too cool! Way to go, Ken!" exclaimed Paildramon.

Dinobeemon made a saluting motion towards the others before advancing towards Chaos Seadramon with Jewelbeemon, while Aquilamon flew down to take Yolei away to safety. They were joined by the other Ultimate digimon as they prepared to fight Chaos Seadramon again.

"Give up while you still have the chance, Chaos Seadramon," said Dinobeemon calmly.

"No way! Even if all of you gang up against me I will still win the battle," replied Chaos Seadramon confidently. "I will not lose to a bunch of Ultimate digimon; my powers are far greater than any of you combined!"

"Then don't say we didn't warn you," said Dinobeemon and he zoomed towards the Chaos General with unrivalled speed. "Irritant Buzz!"

Waves of purple and white spiraling waves shot out from Dinobeemon's mouth, accompanied by extremely high-pitched buzzing sounds. The others had to close their ears tight as the sound was absolutely deafening. Even Chaos Seadramon was no exception, but he was the most affected of all as he had no means to block out the sounds. However as Dinobeemon had locked on to his target, the others soon felt as if the sound had dissipated. Chaos Seadramon was hit by the supersonic wave and was momentarily stunned as it had hit on the center of his head and had affected his cerebral area. Taking advantage of his temporary immobilization, the others charged for a full scale assault onto the enemy.

Jewelbeemon took the lead and aimed both claws forward. "Shot Claw!"

"Spell Prohibition Paper!" Doumon joined in, showering Chaos Seadramon all over the body with hundreds of purple fiery talisman papers.

Angewomon, Paildramon and MagnaAngemon all fired their attacks, and let Dinobeemon delivered the coupe' de grace.

"Hell Masquerade!" he shouted, and performed a series of eerie dance steps over the air. As his body began to glow crimson his movements became quicker and more intense, and the others could then see only red blurs buzzing over the air. Then three figures identical to Dinobeemon leapt out from his body, and all of them cornered Chaos Seadramon.

"All together now," said the main Dinobeemon. "Irritant Buzz!"

"Spiking Strike!"

"Insect Antenna!"

"Moon Shooter!"

Chaos Seadramon found himself overwhelmed by a series of attacks coming from the four Dinobeemon. That was not all, when the other five digimon stepped in and fired again with all their might. Chaos Seadramon was sent crashing onto the ground, right in front of Emeraldo City. The commotion drew out the attentions of the citizens of the city, and all of them gathered over the gate to watch as the Chaos General was defeated by the Digidestined and their two allies. They cheered for the Digidestined for being victorious, and Chaos Seadramon had never felt humiliated. He was defeated by a bunch of Ultimate level digimon!

Dinobeemon's three personas merged back with him as all of them descended towards the ground. Then, he and the other Transdigivolved digimon reverted back into their humans and digimon forms. Doumon and Jewelbeemon were with them as well.

"What do we do with him?" asked Ken, looking over Chaos Seadramon's massive armored stature, which seemed to be tainted with scorch marks. Some chips were hanging lose, and there were a few broken sections all over the blue armor of his.

"We can't just leave him here," said Davis. "He's not exactly what I'd say as a sight for sore eyes!"

The others laughed upon hearing Davis's comment. Then, Doumon stepped forward.

"I will handle this," she offered, and a giant paintbrush materialized on her hands. She approached the fallen serpentine master and lifted herself over the air. Hovering over Chaos Seadramon, Doumon made a swirling motion on the air with her paintbrush.

"Demon Gate Escape!"

The air crackled with winds and lightning as a giant circular gateway that resembled MagnaAngemon's Gate of Destiny appeared above Chaos Seadramon. The only major difference between the two gates was that Doumon's gate was midnight-blue in color and wasn't as fancy as MagnaAngemon's. Strong winds rushed out from the gate and pulled Chaos Seadramon into it. His body glowed yellow before he was sucked into the gate before the gate dissipated into data particles.

"Is he gone for good?" asked Gatomon testily. "Because I certainly don't want to meet him again."

"I afraid not," Doumon answered as she landed back onto the ground. "My Demon Gate Escape does not work the same way as the Gate of Destiny. It is mainly used as a means of escape during a losing battle, and for transporting me to various places. I summoned the gate to send Chaos Seadramon back to wherever he came from."

"Someone's not going to be very happy about that," said Davis, grinning as he dusted off dirt from his clothes.

"Yeah, two words. Chaos Specter," said Ken. "Think about it, all of us have just defeated a Mega digimon."

"We weren't doing so well until you arrived, Ken," said Veemon, crossing his arms over his body and shifted his attention towards Wormmon. "Dinobeemon is really awesome, Wormmon. Is that your real Ultimate form, or is it Deathbeemon?"

"Veemon!" snapped Gatomon, glaring at Veemon dangerously.

"What?" said Veemon, his face faltered in confusion.

"That's really insensitive of you," Patamon pointed out. "You shouldn't remind Wormmon about that. I know Agumon hates it when anyone reminds him of that SkullGreymon incident."

"Oh..." said Veemon, nodding slowly in understanding. "Sorry about that, Wormmon."

"Nah, that's okay Veemon," replied Wormmon. "Gatomon, Patamon, thanks. I think I would really like to talk to Agumon about this sometimes... this isn't exactly something that can just be forgotten. I wonder how Agumon puts up with it."

"You and Ken are welcomed to come over anytime," said Kari warmly. "But not today though, we still have to do some unpacking from the trip... which reminds me. We better get going for now. Come along, Gatomon." Kari opened up a Digiport and disappeared into it with Gatomon.

"Me too. Mom and Grandpa will be so worried if they saw that I wasn't at my room," said TK.

"Sorry to ruin your vacations," said Ken apologetically.

"Nah... I'd say that it just got a bit more interesting," replied TK as he summoned up a Digiport as well. With Patamon perched on his shoulder TK walked into the Digiport and returned back to France.

"Something's still bothering me ... " said Wormmon thoughtfully. "What exactly happened to me when I was Deathbeemon? I remembered being frozen till a near death... but I don't know who did that to me."

"Regretfully to say, it was my doing," Doumon admitted. "I saw how dangerous Deathbeemon was and did the only thing I thought possible... I froze him."

"You could have killed him!" said Ken, appalled.

"No, it would not," countered Doumon. "I admit it was too strong for Wormmon to handle, but I have reduced the power of the attack. It will only stun. Nevertheless, I really am sorry about that but I was only trying to save the others' lives."

"Well... "Wormmon replied, and looked at Ken who was slightly scowling. "I guess it all ends well... so it's all right, Doumon. If it wasn't for this then maybe we couldn't find Jewelbeemon and Ken couldn't right the wrongs he'd done before."

Ken nodded slowly. "He's right. One way or another, you helped us to achieve Transdigivolution."

"I am honored to hear that. Thank you," Doumon answered gratefully.

"So... Doumon, Jewelbeemon, what brings you two here?" Davis asked. "It's not often that we have the privilege to meet two tough chicks."

"I beg your pardon?" both Doumon and Jewelbeemon asked. Davis frowned and rectified his sentence.

"What I mean is that, we've never meet you two before and all of the sudden you're here helping us fight our enemy?"

"It is not safe to speak here, we might be watched," stated Jewelbeemon.

"Have you got a secure place for us to go?" asked Doumon.

"Well... I guess we can bring you guys to Asuka Lab. We have to ask Gennai or Piximon about this first," said Cody.

"Ah... Gennai. It has been too long since I have met him," said Doumon thoughtfully.

"You two know each other?" asked Yolei, bewildered. "Are you a friend of his?"

Doumon shook her head slightly. "We have met before... but we have barely spoken to each other for me to consider him as a friend. An acquaintance would be more precise."

The Digidestined contacted Gennai and received his permission to bring over Doumon and Jewelbeemon to Asuka Laboratory. After exchanging a few words with the citizens of Emeraldo City who were grateful for their help, the remaining Digidestined and their allies went back to Asuka City as Doumon and Jewelbeemon both had important news to tell. What they were going to inform the Digidestined would enlighten them of the current threat they were facing with, and just how dangerous it was for them. Find out about it, next on Vengeance!

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

10/17/04 – exactly one year after Vengeance is first written. I have to say that it has been a great one year for me as a fanfiction author. The reviews I've been getting have really encouraged me. Thank you for the valuable comments, advices and tips. I feel that I am so lucky to have reviewers pointing out flaws and valuable tips for me to improve my writing skill. I still have a lot to learn.

**_DTV – _**Thanks for the review. Sorry about not answering all of your queries last time. Firstly, when I outlined the basic plot for Vengeance I didn't even know about Chronicles and V Tamer. Not to say that I was ignorant... but I kinda was like in a dark about it. Whether they will be included in the Multiverse I have set in this story, I really don't think so. I think I've said that there were nine other alternate realities connected to the 02' reality. That includes the Dark Ocean, the Dream World, the Tamer's Digiworld, the Frontier's Digiworld, Catrina's homeworld and four unnamed realities. Right now I don't have any plans to include Chronicles and V Tamer into my fic yet. As for X antibody villain, it's also not in the original plan for this fic but while outlining the plots I have kept some plots open for modification. In the prologue of Legend of the Digidestined, there is Omnimon in Transcendence Mode, he is actually Omnimon X but at that time I only have the picture but not the name. As for the first DDs, I've recently added into the Vengeance outline for their brief appearances or cameo, but whether they'll make it into this fics or not it will depend on how this story is progressing. They are older than Tai and the others, that's for sure, but not too much older. As for the story idea... I really don't have a clue. For your information, I've only watched a few animes... that includes Digimon, Pokemon, Dragonball Z GT, Sailor Moon and some others which I watch from time to time. Your idea sounds interesting, but I can't guess the identities of the villains you have in mind. Sorry about that.

**_J.D. Guy_** – Thanks for reviewing, I'm glad that you like those two chapters.

**_Quinton Norwen – _**Thanks for the review. Yes, I admit it's pretty hard but I still enjoy writing them. I'm not an expert when writing about characters, so from time to time they might seem to be two-dimensional and plain... I really need to work on that. It wasn't so hard when writing about the current existing DDs, but when writing about my original characters in Legend of DD I admit it really needs a lot of work.


	25. Gennai Explains It All

_**VENGEANCE**_

**_Chapter 24 – Gennai Explains it All_**

_**--------------------------------------------------------------------------**_

All Digidestined and digimon, sans TK, Kari and their partners, made it back to Asuka Laboratory safe and sound. Gennai was already waiting for them with a grim expression on his face, but before anyone could ask him of what was troubling him, the youthful master motioned for his companion, HolyAngemon, to restore the states of the Digidestined and digimon using his healing technique. Doumon and Jewelbeemon marveled of the astounding sight and the advance technology the laboratory had to offer. Doumon then approached Gennai and greeted him, and the man's face turned into a puzzled look before a dawn of comprehension appeared on his handsome face.

"Doumon," he said in acknowledgement. "It's been a long time."

"It is indeed," Doumon replied. "I am glad to meet you, after all these times. And I see that you have grown into a fine young man."

Gennai blushed slightly, and the comment coming from the purple furred fox priestess intrigued the Digidestined.

"What does she mean by that?" Yolei wondered, with a slightly puzzled look.

"It's nothing actually," Gennai replied with a smile. "It's only that I've met Doumon when I was approximately at your age."

All of those who were present inside the lab nodded upon the comment. It seemed that Gennai and Doumon were old acquaintances. Gennai then motioned for everyone to be seated on the carpeted section of the lab's blue marble floors, which was at the corner of the lab where no machines and computers were placed. One of the Piximon there offered to send in some cushions for them, but they assured that they would be just fine without them. Everyone then sat themselves on the red velvety carpet in a circle. Each Digidestined sat with their digimon, followed by HolyAngemon and his disciples, Piximon, Doumon, Jewelbeemon and GrapLeomon. Between GrapLeomon and Davis there was a vacant space.

"So what brings you here, Doumon?" Gennai asked as he plopped down at the vacant space.

Doumon's expression narrowed slightly. "It seems that something is also troubling you, Gennai. I believe we are thinking of the same thing. Why don't you proceed first, and I will follow?"

Gennai nodded, and looked over the four Digidestined with a slightly depressing expression on his face. "So I see that you've already met Chaos Specter. However I really don't expect him to be able to become Duskmon and Velgamon."

"Yeah. He's really tough when he was Duskmon or Velgamon. The Digimon Analyzer wasn't able to identify either one of them," Davis said. _(See Ch. 19 – Discovery of a Recent Past)_

"Did you accidentally left out their entries?" Wormmon asked.

"Impossible!" Piximon said indignantly. "We're pretty sure we've included all digimon, right Gennai?"

Gennai nodded weakly. "Piximon's right. When we developed the analyzer until its current stage now, we have made extensive researches throughout the Digital World to seek for all types and species of digimon. The only reason why the analyzer wasn't able to produce statistics for Duskmon and Velgamon is because those two digimon are not your average digimon. They aren't purely digimon either."

"Huh? I thought all names with the extension -mon are referring to digimon?" Yolei asked.

"You're correct, Yolei," Gennai said. "However there are some special cases. Duskmon and Velgamon are such cases, as they are actually more leaning towards being corrupted manifestations of the element of darkness. In your world I believe they can also be termed as spirits. In fact, an alternate Digital World dimensions parallel to our world had once displayed such rarity of a case. The group of Digidestined there used these digimon spirits to evolve into digimon instead of being partnered with them to protect the Digital World from evil. One of these chosen initially fell under the influence of evil, and was given control of the Spirit of Darkness. Using this spirit, he had somehow digivolved... or in that world, it was termed as Spirit evolved... into Duskmon and Velgamon. After he joined the side of good, he had tapped into the real power of darkness and no longer became Duskmon and Velgamon, but their true manifestations of darkness. This event proved our theory pertaining to an earlier event happening way back in our world, during the times where this world was first invaded by the forces of evil.

"They are called the Legion of Darkness, and it was due to their coming the first batch of Digidestined was summoned in the first place. One of the enemies they have faced was Duskmon and Velgamon..." Gennai's voice trailed off as he seemed to be loss of words.

"It just doesn't seem to make any sense," HolyAngemon muttered. "How can Chaos Specter gain control of these two corrupted spirits in the first place?"

"Somehow he must have attained them from other dimensions unknown to us," Gennai replied instantly.

The Digidestined were all too awed of hearing this new fact to even speak up. They were at first thrilled of hearing that there was another batch of Digidestined on other analogous dimension, and were also confused. The concept of the world having multiple dimensions were one of the hottest debated topics back on their world, and here the theory was already proven.

"There's another Digital World other than this one?" Cody inquired politely, diverting Gennai from his thoughts.

"Why, yes. In fact, the Dark Ocean and the Dream World were two of the other alternate dimensions parallel with this Digital World. As for the alternate Digital Worlds... all of them were actually belonging in the same plane once, which was a very long time ago. It is recently learnt that the existence of digimon and the original single Digital World is made possible by a group of resourceful humans coming from an alternate world to your home world."

"I'm confused," Veemon said, baffled by the revelations. Davis seemed to be agreeing with him as he was scratching his head in confusion.

"You can say that again," Ken agreed.

"Funny you two should say that, when an old friend of yours came from an alternate dimension himself," Gennai said with a wink. "Don't you two remember a boy who went by the name of Ryo Akiyama?"

"Should I? The name doesn't seem to ring a bell," Veemon replied, confused more than ever now.

"I remember him!" Wormmon supplied. "Ryo's a friend of us during our early adventures in the Digital World. We teamed up together to fight that monster... Milleniumon. Ryo was partnered with a Veemon back then..."

"It could be another Veemon, but as far as I know Veemon is one of a kind," Gennai said.

"Hey! Just how many partners do you have before me, Veemon?" Davis demanded, and glared to the small blue dragon.

"Don't look at me like that! As far as I know, you're my only partner Davis. You're the one who released me from the Digi-Egg of Courage," Veemon answered defensively. Gennai merely chuckled upon seeing the exchange between the two of them.

Ken's expression became thoughtful. "I've never known that Ryo came from another dimension? I thought he said he came from Kyushu?"

Gennai nodded. "Right. But what he didn't know back then was that it was an alternate Kyushu from your world. "

"This is too confusing," Ken grumbled. "But I sure wish I'd have the chance to meet him again."

"Don't worry. One day I'll brief all of you with all the details about it. Doumon, would you like to add anything to what I've just said?"

Doumon quickly stood up and went to the center of the circle. Her expression grew more sober than ever.

"Yes, thank you Gennai. I am here with grave news. Not too long ago, Chaos Wargreymon had intruded the Kulon Mines where I am residing as one of the guardian there. He was searching for the Zeed Crystal which I and the other guardians of the cave were assigned to guard by our benevolent lord Ebonwumon. My assistants and I made a deal with him, where we would battle each other. Should he lose the fight he had to turn back and leave the cave. Unfortunately I lost the fight, and by the honor of the deals I had to allow him to proceed. Then, Chaos Wargreymon had engaged himself in a fight with the other guardians, and had deleted them all. He had retrieved the crystal successfully, but somehow the crystal bonded himself with him. When I found him several days later, the Zeed Crystal was already embedded on his chest plate."

D'arcmon raised a hand. "Is this Zeed Crystal somehow purple in color? Because my brothers and I encountered him back at Mariner Bay Village, and he had a purple crystal on his chest plate."

"That seems to be it," Doumon agreed.

"What's so important with this Zeed Crystal anyway?" Davis huffed.

"Perhaps I can explain it," Gennai replied and went to the center of the circle as Doumon returned to her seat. "We have to start way back, from the one digimon who had begun it all – Milleniumon. Around three years ago, Milleniumon made his first appearance on our world, resulted from a permanent DNA Digivolution from a Kimeramon and a newly digivolved Machinedramon. He had wrecked havoc in this world, forcing us to summon back the second batch of Digidestined – who are Tai and the others – to our world. Reunited with their partner digimon, all of them battled Milleniumon but the evil digimon managed to trap all of the Digidestined and their partners inside his dark domain. The only one who managed to escape from capture was Agumon. For a while, we didn't know what to do..."

"Wait just a minute! How can a Kimeramon exist three years ago? As far as I know, Ken was the one who created that freak of a monster! No offense, Ken." Yolei added quickly.

Ken shook his head. "None taken. Actually, I created Kimeramon based on a manuscript I've found with the ship given to me by Chaos Specter. Someone must have created a Kimeramon once, and have left the instructions with the ship."

"As a matter of fact, you're right," Gennai replied. "The first batch of Digidestined faced a Kimeramon once. But let's continue to what I was going to tell.

"After the capture of the Digidestined and seven of the destined digimon, Agumon and I encountered a lone boy who was somehow brought into this world with a Digivice. He is Ryo Akiyama, and strangely he didn't have a partner digimon with him. Ryo was as baffled as we were of the reason why he was brought to the Digital World, but the reason became apparent when he was attacked by a Kuwagamon sent by Milleniumon to get him. Using his Digivice, he had somehow digivolved Agumon into Greymon and beaten the Kuwagamon. Seeing this, Agumon then asked Ryo to team up with him to save the Digidestined.

"They made it together to Milleniumon's dark domain and engaged in a battle with Milleniumon. Ryo's Digivice then Warp-digivolved Agumon into Wargreymon and the two Mega battled each other while Ryo went to look for the captured Digidestined. He freed them from captive and together, the Digidestined joined Wargreymon to battle Milleniumon again. Tai and Matt then DNA Digivolved Wargreymon and MetalGarurumon together to form Omnimon and defeated the dark digimon. In order to prevent the same thing from happening again, the Digidestined released the power from their crests to seal the Digital World from being invaded by other evil forces, sacrificing their digimon's ability to digivolve into Ultimate and Mega. It was a heavy blow for them, but it had to be done. Ryo and the Digidestined then parted ways, and for a while the Digital World was at peace again."

Gennai stopped momentarily to ensure that the others comprehended with what he was telling. It seemed like all of them did.

"Let me guess," Yolei spoke up. "That wasn't the end of Milleniumon."

"Indeed," Gennai answered, nodding at the same time.

"How did _you_ know?" Davis asked in wonder.

Yolei smiled proudly. "Duh! I think it's pretty obvious. Besides, I was waiting for the moment where Ken showed up." Ken blushed slightly upon hearing that.

Gennai chuckled lightly and resumed to his story. "Like a bad smell, Milleniumon returned in a year. Sensing danger coming into our world, the Azulongmon residing in the Digital World in Ryo's dimension summoned Ryo and told him that he was once again needed. In the meantime, in our world, Ken was brought in when he received a Digivice and was united with Wormmon. Ryo arrived soon after with a Veemon he'd met while on his way to my home. Together they were successful in digivolving their assigned partners into Champion level and after a series of long adventures the four of them finally faced Milleniumon again. Of course, Champions were no match against a strong Mega digimon such as Milleniummon, but then when Ryo's and Ken's thoughts and feelings synchronized as one their digimon DNA Digivolved into Paildramon. With what I would say as a stroke of luck – Paildramon miraculously was able to defeat Milleniumon once more but before his demise he spit out a few Dark Spores – with one of them struck into Ken's neck. I had Wormmon to stay with Ken until he was healed before sending him back home, while Ryo was summoned back by the Azulongmon from his world.

"Once again, I thought that was that. But of course, I was wrong again. Milleniumon rose again for the third time and had acquired a new form – as MoonMilleniumon. This time around however, this Digital World was of no interest to him. He had decided to look for Ryo and kill the boy for being the cause of his two times failures. Before that he decided to leave a fragment of himself back in this world – as the Zeed Crystal – so that if he was defeated again in Ryo's dimension, the crystal would be his way of returning back to power almost instantly. But by then, the Azulongmon in Ryo's world had already begun training Ryo for any upcoming threat from Milleniumon again. This was done without the other three Sovereign digimon there knowing."

"Wow!" Ken exclaimed, rubbing the back of his neck subconciously. "I thought we're done with Milleniumon by then!"

"Sovereign digimon? Who are they?" Cody wondered.

"The Digimon Sovereigns there are the equivalent counterparts of the Harmonious Ones we have here in our world," HolyAngemon answered.

"There are more of them?" Davis said in disbelief, trying to picture two Azulongmon together. He frowned and shook his head. "This is getting weirder every second."

Gennai grinned. "Wait till you hear this part. It's definitely a shocker!" He continued with his story.

"In the world Ryo was living in, as bizarre as it may be, Digimon was a popular television show and many products had been spawned from the show, one of them being card battle games..."

"Say what? No way!" Davis cried in surprised. "Really?" The other Digidestined's faces were definitely a picture-perfect moment as well, with their eyes opened wide and mouths forming an 'O'. The digimon were half as bad themselves, with the exception of HolyAngemon and his disciples who maintained their calm demeanors. All other four Ultimate digimon looked mildly surprised as well.

"Yes," Gennai replied, smiling. "Can I continue?" All of the others there nodded.

"Owing to his experience of having faced real life Digimon, Ryo easily mastered the Digimon card-battle game and became an expert. Azulongmon planned to use Ryo's profound knowledge in wielding those card games to his advantage when he had to face Milleniumon again. Thus, he changed Ryo's original Digivice into a special type of Digivice with the ability to enhance the abilities of any digimon partnered with him with the use of those battle cards. Unfortunately when MoonMilleniumon arrived, Ryo was without a partner. MoonMilleniumon opened a time gate and hurled Ryo back into the past. Ryo ended up at the early days of the Digital World and met a digimon called Monodramon, and the world's first computer – ENIAC."

"Prodigious! I bet Izzy would love to know about this," Yolei said, using Izzy's signature saying on purpose.

"I'm sure of that," Gennai replied, and resumed his tale.

"ENIAC told him that MoonMilleniumon had now attained his true self, in the form of ZeedMilleniumon. ZeedMilleniumon had learnt of the existence of multiple Digital World dimensions and was determined to conquer all of it. ENIAC then partnered Monodramon with Ryo and sent the two of them into the future where ZeedMilleniumon was running amok. Upon learning that Monodramon was partnered with Ryo, ZeedMilleniumon became strangely furious and felt a sudden loss. It was revealed, much to Ryo and Monodramon's surprises that ZeedMilleniumon was supposed to be Ryo's partner digimon as well. It had always been that way, but neither of them realized it. Ryo refused to accept ZeedMilleniumon as a partner, and the latter became furious and challenged Monodramon into an ultimate battle. However Monodramon was only a Rookie while ZeedMilleniumon was one of the most powerful Mega digimon – even rivaling the power of any Harmonious Ones or Digimon Sovereigns.

"Even with the modify cards Monodramon still was no match for ZeedMilleniumon. And ZeedMilleniumon proclaimed that with him not being able to be partnered with Ryo, he would destroy everyone and everything in sight! Monodramon, severely injured in the fight, told Ryo to take ZeedMilleniumon as a partner and to abandon him, but Ryo would have nothing of it. As ZeedMilleniumon was unstoppable, Ryo came up with a decision. Using one of his modify cards – which was a DNA Digivolution card – Ryo gave Monodramon the ability to DNA Digivolve with any digimon, causing both Monodramon and ZeedMilleniumon to merge into one, producing a Digi-egg. The process was sealed permanently with the modify card. The Digi-egg soon hatched and evolved into Monodramon again, and thanks to ZeedMilleniumon's power Monodramon was able to maintain his Ultimate self as Cyberdramon. However it came with a price as well: Cyberdramon was much too feral to be kept in his world, so Ryo was forced to stay with Cyberdramon in the Digital World to tame his partner's feral self. He became the first Digidestined to be known as a Digimon Tamer, and later he met the other Tamers as well."

With that, Gennai had finished his story. Everyone was unusually quiet, especially Ken, as they were pretty much admiring the tales of Ryo and Milleniumon.

"That's definitely enlightening," Wormmon commented, breaking the silence.

"Awesome!" Veemon chirped with sparkling eyes. "I don't know whether I was the one who was once partnered with Ryo, but if I did, I'm sure am proud to be one!"

"Hey! What am I?" Davis exclaimed indignantly. "Chopped liver?"

"Huh? Well, you're... okay," Veemon answered with a smirk.

Davis mock-pouted. "Okay? _Just_ okay? I resent that!"

Veemon laughed. "I'm just kidding, Davis. You're my partner; of course you're way cooler than Ryo! You're my best friend!"

The others guffawed of seeing the exchanges between the duos. Even the serious Doumon and Jewelbeemon were seen straining their smiles.

"Well, what now?" Cody wondered. "I do think that the story was great, Gennai, but don't you think we've got a little bit sidetracked from our original intention? What about the Zeed Crystal?"

"Young Cody is right," GrapLeomon said with approval.

Gennai nodded. "I forgot to mention about it. The Zeed Crystal was found by a servant of Ebonwumon short-after MoonMilleniumon went for Ryo. Ebonwumon took the crystal from the digimon after his release from the Destiny Stones. He had brought it over to his domain and assigned his followers to guard the crystal, knowing that the Zeed Crystal was the only way for Milleniumon to be unleashed again. He also had cast a protective spell to ensure that that would never happen."

"What baffles me is why the crystal was bonded with Chaos Wargreymon?" Doumon said. She shifted slightly.

"I don't know that myself. Perhaps the crystal was attracted to Chaos Wargreymon's power," Gennai suggested.

Jewelbeemon, who was silent throughout the conversation, finally decided to voice her opinion on the matter.

"As far as I can understand, all of Chaos Specter's actions seem to be directing on achieving one goal – to achieve the power of time. He had even acquired the prophecy of time." Jewelbeemon proceeded with the details of what the prophecy of time had cited. All of them managed to get some clue of what the prophecy had stated, but towards the end of it they were practically left in the dark.

"Well, now at least we know why he'd captured the four Harmonious Ones," Gennai said. "It's a start."

"Why does Chaos Specter want the power of time so badly?" Ken wondered.

Davis snorted. "Hmph. He's a bad guy. Does he really need a reason?"

"This is not like one of those bad guys we see on TV, Davis!" Yolei snapped.

"I know. But look, he's been conquering a few quadrants in the East Sector, but doesn't seem to be putting much effort on it aside from stationing powerful digimon to look after the places he had taken in. If what he really wants is to achieve the power to control time, then why bother doing those other unnecessary things?" Davis reasoned.

"You know, what you've said makes sense. Now that's scary," Yolei replied with a smirk. Cody and Ken chuckled mildly.

"Well, I... HEY!"

"Perhaps he just wants to kill some time..." Hawkmon shrugged. "...or just to show off his dominance."

"Makes sense," Armadillomon quipped.

"For now, I think it is possible to assume that Chaos Specter has the intention to bring back Milleniumon to life," Doumon suggested.

"Milleniumon _and_ the one mentioned in the prophecy," Jewelbeemon added.

Davis frowned. "I hate to think of how we're going to face Milleniumon if he's back. We no longer have Imperialdramon with us; only Gatomon and Hawkmon still have the DNA Digivolution power."

"Can't we use Gatomon's Tail Ring to restore our digimon's ability to DNA Digivolve?" Ken asked.

Gennai shook his head sadly. "I'm afraid not. The Tail Ring's power is limited to three pairs of digimon only, and to sustain Gatomon's own Champion power. If I force the ring to give up all of its remaining power to restore your digimon's DNA Digivolution powers, it will only result in the destruction of the Tail Ring, and still it's not guaranteed whether the digimon would be able to DNA Digivolve again."

"Besides, Gatomon would be heartbroken if she lost the Tail Ring again," Hawkmon supplied. "It's a gift from Wizardmon from what I have gathered."

"Speaking of Wizardmon... there _might_ still be a way," Gennai suddenly said; his blue eyes seemed to twinkle.

"What about it?" Yolei wondered.

"I'll tell you later... I'm not sure whether it'll work or not. Although I'm quite positive..."

"Yeah, you'll do that. So what do you suggest we do now?" Davis inquired.

"For now, I'll have to do some research. All of you will return to your home for today. Tomorrow we'll work on freeing Tree Top Village, and Yolei and Cody still haven't achieved Transdigivolution yet..." Gennai replied before Doumon interrupted him.

"I must find Chaos Wargreymon before his master got to him."

Piddomon cleared his throat. "I think Chaos Wargreymon is no longer under Chaos Specter. He had helped us freeing Mariner Bay Village from Chaos Seadramon's minions."

Doumon looked extremely relieved to hear that. "Really? I did not expect to hear that. But we still have to find him as he is now having the Zeed Crystal with him. If he is no longer in the service of Chaos Specter, then he is in danger as the Zeed Crystal power can corrupt him. I have to find him."

"_We'll_ do that, but it would be helpful if you reach your Mega form first," Gennai replied sternly. "For all we know, Chaos Specter might have him already. He wants the power of time too much to just let Chaos Wargreymon amble around freely. Chances are Chaos Wargreymon is already captured. If we're going to look for him, the Digidestined is going to need to prepare full force of their power. To have a good chance of fighting Chaos Specter's remaining generals, all of the Digidestined must be able to Transdigivolve. Doumon will also need to become Kuzuhamon again, as any Mega digimon would be of help."

Everyone voiced their agreements, and Gennai opened a portal to the Digidestined's home world to let the children return first. GrapLeomon then offered Doumon and Jewelbeemon to join him with his trainings inside his gym in order to improve their fighting skills. HolyAngemon and his disciples also excused themselves and retreated to their temple underneath the lab. The only ones remaining now inside the lab were Gennai and Piximon. Gennai then asked Piximon to establish a connection to Zephyr Tower of the Blue Dragon Island, as he would like to make a proposal to the appointed guardian of the island.

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Some excerpts of this chapter have been written quite a long time ago, especially the part pertaining to Ryo and Milleniumon. However I couldn't find the perfect place to insert it in previous chapters, up until this chapter came along. Then there's a few research to be done about Ryo's back story. I know some of the points given here contraindicate with the original one, and there are a few added plots that I've created as well, but as far as the series Digimon 02 and Tamers are concerned, it served as quite a logical connection, right? Oh yeah, I know... I've been ignoring the movie where Ryo made a cameo. I just based my story on some of the information from the Wonderswan games and an event mentioned in Digimon 02 about the kids giving up their crest powers, and ties them together to make this chapter.

-

**_DTV -_** Thanks for the informative review. I think this chapter pretty much answers the majority of your inquiries, although I've made a few changes here and there to add flow in the story. As for them going to Mega... it's too soon to tell. I'm not in favor of making them too powerful yet. And as for the International Digidestined, they will be featured in the currently-planned sequel of Vengeance (that is, if I can even finish writing Vengeance first) as the wielders of the remaining Diginizers. About the first Digidestined, I'd say that their adventures took place during 1995-96, so they're not much older from the rest of the gang. I've started researching about Frontier because there are some aspects of Frontier I'm basing this fic upon. (Hint... Duskmon... hint) Oh and by the way, Diginizer stands for Digital Energizer. Chaos Specter only refers to Ryo by his surname because he doesn't know Ryo that well like Gennai or Ken does. I changed some bits about Ryo, especially about his place of origin (or in this case, dimension of origin) as the idea of him bringing his family from one dimension to another disturbs me to no end.

**_Digi fan –_** Thanks for the review, and stay tuned as they will be Transdigivolving very, very soon.

**_Lodis Lord - _**Thanks for the review. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Not much action, but more revelation.

**_Quinton Notwen - _**Hey, thanks for reviewing. Sorry I haven't been able to read all of the chapters of your work yet. Anyway, I think Aquilamon's choice of evolution would be either Silphymon or Garudamon (according to Megchan), although for now I'm trying to work on some of bits of scene where Yolei and Hawkmon would Transdigivolve. It will be the first time when a female Digidestined merged with a male Digimon. It would be hilarious, and confusing at the same time. I can't wait to get those chapters out, but only after I work on them as much as I could. AI's dialogue is pretty hard to write as well, I was referring to a few shows and fics I've seen and read on how a computer with an automated voice response should answer when it is asked a question.

**_J.D. Guy -_** Thanks for the compliment. I hope you enjoy this chapter. It's not much but I have to get it out before proceeding with the next one.

**_CustomMagnum - _**A new reviewer! Thanks for the review. Stay tune for the future updates.


	26. Catrina's Grand Entrance

_**VENGEANCE**_

**_Chapter 25 – Catrina's Grand Entrance_**

_**--------------------------------------------------------------------------**_

It was a day out for the Digidestined today. TK was still in France, spending another week at his grandfather's house. Cody was busy training with his Kendo for an upcoming state tournament, while Davis spent the day with his soccer buddies, reviewing techniques and strategies to improve their team. Kari just used the day to have a rest. She after all, hadn't had the chance to do so; upon her arrival from Hokkaido she was immediately being asked to assist the other Digidestined in battling Chaos Seadramon.

And as for Yolei and Ken, they had decided to use the free time to go out for . . . their first date!

Huh? Well, back when Ken and Yolei had gone to the Cave of Illusions in order to revive the frozen Wormmon, Yolei had given Ken a kiss as a token of good luck and wished him a safe journey before he entered the cave. And that got Ken thinking just after the whole ordeal with the cave, Chaos Seadramon and Gennai's revelations were over.

They had gotten a lot closer after their last battle with MaloMyotismon, and all the while, Yolei had been very supportive and helpful towards him. She had attended nearly all the soccer matches he had taken part into up until the arrival of Chaos Specter. And when he had decided to become a tutor for the younger, ex-Dark Spore kids-turned-Digidestined, Yolei had offered to help him out with the job. Free of charge, and no questions asked.

That had made Ken wonder once in a while; did Yolei want to be more than just friends?

With Wormmon's support, Ken braved himself and called Yolei via telephone that very night, and blurted that he wanted to ask her out for a date.

Yolei had practically screamed in surprise upon hearing the request, and was momentarily dazed. Here he was, Ken Ichijouji, the one whom she used to have a crush on, was asking her out for a date. At first Yolei had thought of her crush as merely a passing one, and she had once hated the boy prior to learning that he was the Digimon Emperor. But when Ken had turned over a new leaf, she found those feelings resurfacing, but kept it to herself, dismissing it as the feelings of friendship.

In fact, what made it more shocking was the fact that this was the first time anyone had asked her out for a date, if she counted out Cody, whom she had been best friends with for years.

So needless to say, she practically cried out her agreement.

And for the next couple of hours, the two of them chatted via the instant messenger, planning their first date. Of course, they would not officially date as a couple yet. Firstly, they were too young. And secondly . . . they weren't old enough. They would settle for now as extra-special-best friends, as Yolei had worded it via the IM.

So, how would they spend their first date? Ken had suggested watching a movie, while Yolei had thought of visiting the mall. No, they had decided. Something was missing, something to make it extra special.

That was when Wormmon and Hawkmon both decided to pitch in their two cents. They came up with the idea for the two Digidestined to have their first date at the Digital World. It would be memorable; not everyone had the chance to go to the Digital World. And as for a place to eat, what place on the Digital World served good food, if not Digitamamon's Diner?

Both Yolei and Ken brightened up upon the suggestion. As Yolei would have said, "Perfecto!"

The digimon then practically invited themselves to tag along. "What if something happen? You'd need us to protect you," Wormmon had reminded.

So, the decision was made. The digimon were allowed to follow them, but they had to be in their best behavior.

"Hey, what did you mean by that?" Hawkmon had asked indignantly. "Of course we'll behave!"

However then came the argument between the two digimon, much to the Digidestined's amusement. Hawkmon had wanted to go to the diner in front of the lake, while Wormmon preferred the Chinatown's diner. Ken then pointed out that he and Wormmon hadn't had the chance to go to the diner by the lake yet, and the decision was made. They would go to the diner by the lake.

And so the next day, the four of them met up at the park by the morning. Each noticed that the other had taken a great amount of effort to make him/her looked presentable.

Ken was wearing a neat light blue button-up short-sleeved shirt tucked inside a pair of khakis. And for once, Yolei noted, he had applied gel to his dark blue hair, and combed it neatly backward.

Yolei on the other hand, opted for a more casual outfit. She had chosen a pair of light blue jeans which ended just below her knees, and a simple red T-shirt. But what was surprising for Ken was that she had applied a light make-up, and wore a pink headband over her head. Ken had to say that she looked simply stunning, and Yolei graciously accepted the compliment while commenting that Ken looked good too.

Then, they opened up a Digiport to Asuka Laboratory first, to ask Gennai whether it would be alright for them to go the East Sector where the diner was. Upon arrival they noticed that the lab was particularly empty, save for the Piximon crew.

"So is it OK for us to go there?" Ken asked, after explaining to Gennai about the date.

The young digital man chuckled lightly. "Of course, and I'm sure Digitamamon will be glad to have you around."

"What if there's trouble?" Yolei inquired. "As far as I remember, the Tree-top Village still was under Chaos Piedmon's hand."

"Don't worry about it," Gennai replied assuringly. "All of you kids deserve a break once in a while. And as for the Tree-top Village; GrapLeomon, Piximon and Jewelbeemon had gone off earlier this morning to check out the situation. All the angels are downstairs, and Doumon is in the gym, training."

He then keyed in the coordinates of Digitamamon's Diner inside the computers and opened up a Digiport which would lead them there. "Have fun!" he said, with a wink.

Ken, Yolei and their digimon then entered the Digiport and were brought straight to their destination.

* * *

Digitamamon's diner was still pretty much remained the same. Located on a small island at the East Sector of the Server Continent, in front of a crystal clear blue lake and surrounded by lush green forest, it was an ideal spot for the two Digidestined to spend their time together. The diner was a large one storey building painted in white with brown roof. For the whole Digidestined group, two memorable events had occurred at this very place.

First was when Joe and Gomamon found their way to the diner, and decided to have a meal there. They couldn't pay for their meal, and ended up washing the dishes as compensation. Matt and Gabumon found them later on, and they lent Joe a hand with the dishes. Unknown to them, Demidevimon, who was a servant of Myotismon, was there causing all sorts of accidents that would put the blame on Joe. Then Digitamamon provoked an attack towards Joe, Matt and TK, but was defeated by the timely digivolution of Garurumon into WereGarurumon. It was revealed that Digitamamon was under the influence of the Dark Masters, which was the reason of his nasty attitude.

Three years later, the new batch of Digidestined, sans Ken, went over to the diner for a meal. Currency issue caused the problem, when Digitamamon demanded dollars when all the kids had were yen. This time around, it was Michael and Mimi who saved the day when Michael produced dollars to pay up for the meal. Later, Digitamamon was caught on with the Dark Spiral, and it took all five Armor digimon, with the newest being Shurimon, to destroy the spiral which was buried deep inside Digitamamon's inner eggshell, returning him to his usual self.

* * *

As the four of them entered the restaurant, they were pleasantly surprised to be greeted by a familiar face.

"Hi! Welcome to Digitamamon's Diner," greeted a young girl pleasantly when she heard the entrance bell ringing. She had messy black hair and a pair of shining grayish-black eyes. She was wearing a cream colored T-shirt and brown shorts under a pink apron, and a matching pink cap. When she saw the incoming customers, she grinned wide. "Ken! Yolei!"

The two Digidestined smiled upon seeing the enthusiastic girl. "Hello, Noriko," Ken greeted warmly. "We certainly don't expect to see you here. What are you doing here?"

"I work here," Noriko answered with a grin. "Me and my partner, Penguinmon; both of us work here." She turned around to face a plump penguin-like digimon with dark blue skin and white patch of fur in front of its body. The digimon had a pair of reddish brown eyes, and its yellow beak was striped with black at the upper-front part. This was Penguinmon, Noriko's partner. "Penguinmon, come and say Hi to them!"

"Hello! Nice to meet you," Penguinmon greeted.

Ken and Yolei returned the greetings, while Wormmon and Hawkmon said, "Hi!" Ken and Yolei had already known Noriko as Ken had offered to tutor the ex-Dark Spore kids during the holiday, and once in a while Yolei had helped him. The two of them were popular with the younger kids due to this.

"You work here?" Yolei asked, surprised. "You mean, Digitamamon actually paid you to work here?"

Noriko grinned sheepishly. "Well . . . not exactly. Actually, we're working off our bills."

A vein nearly popped out from Yolei's forehead. "What?" she hissed.

"Is there something I can do for all of you?" a gruff voice asked from somewhere behind Noriko and Penguinmon. They jumped slightly and turned to face an egg-like digimon with green reptilian legs protruding out from below. Those legs ended up with magenta talons, and on the surface of the diamond-hard egg there was a portion of it that was cracked – revealing two small pairs of yellow eyes against a pitch black background.

"Digitamamon!" all of them said in unison.

"Yes, it's me alright. I'm pleased and all to meet you again, but I've got a business to run and customers to tend to," Digitamamon replied in his no-nonsense attitude. He then glared at Noriko and Penguinmon. "You two – into the kitchen pronto! Veggiemon, Keiko and Salamon are having their hands full and they could use your help."

"Yes, Mr. Digitamamon," Noriko mumbled and sauntered off towards the curtained doorway near the counter, with Penguinmon following her closely from behind.

"Now," Digitamamon turned back to face Yolei and Ken. "Can I do something for you?"

"Did you force Noriko and her partner to work off their bills?" Yolei demanded.

"I heard you said that Keiko and Salamon are also here," Ken said.

"Yes, since they have no dollars to pay up for their meals. It's only fair if they work here momentarily until the four of them have covered the cost of their bills. No freebies. Besides, it's none of your business. The girls and their partners seem to have fun here, as I can see. And don't worry your head of about them – I treat my employees fairly."

Yolei was about to retort when Ken stopped her. "No use arguing. We'll ask Noriko and Keiko to explain to us later," he whispered.

The lavender-haired girl nodded sullenly. Then, a loud screech was heard from the kitchen and both Noriko and a girl with brown hair tied in ponytail stepped out from the curtained door. She was wearing the same hat and apron like Noriko, over a pair of light-yellow dress. Both Ken and Yolei recognized this other girl as Keiko, another one of the Dark Spore kids.

"What have you done this time?" Digitamamon demanded with a slightly weary tone.

"Sorry, Mr. Digitamamon," Keiko apologized. "We've accidentally broken another plate."

"Veggiemon chased us out of _his_ kitchen," Noriko added.

"That's three more days for you to work here!" Digitamamon snapped. "Now, please do something right this time and point our guests to their tables. You certainly can't do that wrong, can you?" He said skeptically and went into the kitchen to inspect the damage.

Then, Noriko and Keiko led the two older Digidestined towards one booth located at the farthest end of the diner. Ken and Yolei could see that as it was still morning, the diner was still empty. A Tapirmon was seen wiping one of the glass windows inside the diner, and another Tapirmon was hovering near the counter. Ken and Yolei then sat on one booth, while their partners sat on another.

"What will be your orders?" Keiko inquired, and giggled. She handed them the menu. "I've always wanted to say that."

"First of all, both of you . . ." Yolei said and pointed towards the two girls. "Take a seat, and spill the whole story."

The two girls obliged and each pulled a chair from the corner of the counter.

"Well . . . it was actually two days ago," Noriko began. "The four of us have come over here to spend the day at the Digital World. The Digiport brought us here, and we were hungry. So we came into the diner and ordered some food; we thought that we could pay the bills in yen."

"I think I know where this is going," Yolei said understandingly, and told them about her first encounter with Digitamamon. Even Ken was listening, as he wasn't present back then. "It was lucky for us that Michael and Mimi showed up and helped with the bills," she finished.

"I wouldn't say working here as unlucky," Keiko said cheerfully. "Both of us really enjoyed working here."

"I'd say that it's a nice experience . . . now being summer holiday and all," Noriko added, nodding. "But our partners don't seem to think so. Yesterday, Penguinmon had accidentally spilled over a drink on a customer, and Salamon had mixed up an order – causing a few customers to complain to Digitamamon. As a result, we now have one week worth of working here. Not that we're complaining, of course."

"Yeah, we actually managed to learn a lot of things from Veggiemon and Digitamamon," Keiko said. "New recipes and all . . . Veggiemon told us that it was supposed to be a secret between him and Digitamamon only, but both of us saw how he prepared a meal and figured it out ourselves."

"Anyway, we better take your orders now or Digitamamon will blow another fuse," Noriko quickly cut in, and took out a small notebook and a pen. Keiko moved to the other booth to take Wormmon and Hawkmon's orders. The older Digidestined and digimon gave their orders and the two girls then took off to the kitchen to start preparing the meals.

"Do you have the right currency to pay for the meals?" Yolei asked worriedly. "I don't want to work off my bills like them."

Ken grinned. "Don't worry about it. I have things under control."

"So . . . our first date, huh?" Yolei asked, and glanced around nervously. She really didn't know what else to say.

"Yeah," Ken replied, also loss of words. They fell in silence, and managed to hear their partners talking animatedly from the booth beside them.

"They seem to be enjoying themselves," Yolei noted dryly, trying to start a conversation from a new topic.

"Yeah, I guess so," Ken said, still nervous. _"Stupid Ichijouji,"_ he mentally scolded himself.

Yolei sighed. "Oh this is silly!" she said suddenly. She then looked straight into Ken's eyes and said, "I've been meaning to ask you this for a long time. Why me? I mean . . . you're popular, good-looking, smart, and there are a lot of girls prettier than me who've been dying for even a chance to speak with you. So what do you see in me?" Then, the girl blushed furiously and forced herself to stare at the table.

Ken's mind jolted instantly upon hearing the question. This was the opening he was waiting for. "Yolei . . . I see a lot of things in you. You're brilliant, beautiful, and most importantly, sincere and true to your heart. You're never afraid to speak your heart, and that's what I like most about you. Also . . . "

And needless to say, the conversation between the couple kicked off instantly.

* * *

Wandering around the throne room of Velvet Claw, Catrina was practically bored to death. No one was there to entertain her. Chaos Specter had gone off to Protocol Ruins to assess the condition of the Devidramon he had, Chaos Piedmon was at a village somewhere she didn't have a clue of, and Chaos Seadramon simply didn't want to be disturbed while resting in his private chamber.

The BlackGatomon was jaded. If only she wasn't still asleep she would be already going with her master to the ruins. Chaos Piedmon in the meantime, only thought of her as a mere nuisance and refused to bring her along to the village he was going, despite her threatening the general that she would report it to their master.

As uninterested as she had been, Catrina had been pacing agitatedly all around the empty throne room for nearly an hour by now.

"I'm BORED!" she screamed, to no one in particular. "Isn't there anything exciting happening around here? Chaos AI, show me anything that would interest the master. Maybe I can find something to do."

"_Affirmative,"_ replied the female computerized voice of Chaos AI.

The big main screen inside the throne room flickered, and showed Catrina a white building located in front of a lake.

"What's this place you are showing me?" Catrina demanded.

"_Sensors have located two of the twelve targeted Digidestined inside the building shown on the screen. Two targeted digimon are also in their company, along with five unregistered digimon and two unknown humans." _

"Really?" Catrina asked excitedly. "Digidestined? Here? Now's my chance to shine. Cut the talk, and just show me the Digidestined and their partners!"

"_Affirmative."_ The screen then showed the images of Ken and Yolei, chatting excitedly. Then, it shifted to reveal Wormmon and Hawkmon, contently eating their meal. Then the scene switched to inside the kitchen, showing a Digitamamon, a Veggiemon, a Tapirmon, a Salamon, a Penguinmon and two human girls whom Catrina didn't recognize.

"Are those two humans Digidestined as well?"

"_Sensors have detected two D3 signals coming from the humans."_

"Okay, and tell me, is any of the digimon shown here, by any chance, an Ultimate?"

"_Affirmative." _A soft buzzing sound was heard for a while, and Catrina tapped her feet impatiently. _"Sensors have detected one Ultimate digimon among the digimon present inside the building. Initiating Digimon Analyzer now."_

A holographic image of an egg-shaped digimon then appeared in the middle of the throne room, projected by a beam of yellow light that was coming from a circular metallic podium on the floor. The podium was the only place which wasn't covered with red carpet. The hologram spun around slowly, giving Catrina a good view on all of the digimon's dimensions.

Chaos AI's voice echoed all over the throne room as it cited the attributes of the analyzed digimon.

**_----------DIGIMON ANALYZER-----------  
Digitamamon, an Ultimate level digimon of Data type. Its attacks are Nightmare Syndrome and Hyper Flashing. Power Level is 55. _**

"What a joke!" Catrina laughed airily. "I can take him on while in this stage."

"_Sensors have also detected one digimon with the ability to digivolve into Ultimate level. Initiating Digimon Analyzer now."_

The hologram changed into a small green caterpillar. As the properties of the digimon were given, the hologram of the caterpillar turned into an insect warrior, and then changed again to reveal a more fearsome insectoid fighter.

**_----------DIGIMON ANALYZER-----------  
Wormmon, Rookie level digimon of Virus type. Its attacks are Silk Thread and Sticky Net. Subject is known to be able to digivolve into Stingmon – Champion, and Dinobeemon – Ultimate. In Ultimate level, subject is detected to have the power level of 78. _**

Catrina gulped. "This Wormmon is really strong. I'm gonna need somebody to back me up if I want to fight him."

"_Affirmative."_

"I don't ask for your opinion, knuckle-head!" Catrina snapped irritably, but then an idea came to her mind. "Hey, computer, show me an Ultimate, VACCINE digimon we have in our command. If I'm going down there, I better bring in somebody that can take care of that fish-bait first."

"_Affirmative. Scanning . . . Scanning completed. Initiating Digimon Analyzer now."_

Wormmon's holographic image disappeared, and was replaced by a dark-skinned humanoid digimon, with two pairs of hands, a muscular body, and a three-faced mask. Fire seemed to be blazing around the shown digimon.

**_----------DIGIMON ANALYZER-----------  
Asuramon, an Ultimate level digimon of Vaccine type. Its attacks are the Fire Fist of Shiva and Multiple Faces. Its power level is 65. _**

Catrina nodded in satisfaction. "He'll do. Chaos AI, analyze me too. I wanna know my chances against them."

"_Command affirmed."_

**_----------DIGIMON ANALYZER-----------  
BlackGatomon, a Champion level digimon of Virus type. Its attacks are Lightning Claw and Cat's Eye Hypnotism. Subject is known to be able to digivolve into Bastemon – Ultimate. In Ultimate level, subject is detected to have the power level of 62. Subject is known also to be able to perform a mode change; whilst in this form subject's power level increased to 67._**

"Purr-fect!" Catrina squealed delightfully. "Now, it's time for the alluring, the beautiful, the gorgeous CATRINA to make her grand appearance to those good for nothing Digidestined. I'll finish off two Digidestined in one go, and master will _so_ going to be pleased with me."

* * *

At the Protocol Ruins, Chaos Specter was with Datamon analyzing the development of Devidramon. As glad as he was to see that the Demidevimon he had captured earlier digivolved, the intergalactic Digital World conqueror couldn't help but to feel slightly impatient.

"How long will it take for Devidramon to digivolve into Kimeramon?" he demanded to Datamon.

Datamon considered upon the inquiry, making quick calculations in his brain. "Ascending to Champion level is considered as relatively easy for digimon, but the same thing can't be said for those who want to digivolve further. What Devidramon need is more power."

Chaos Specter nodded. "I know that." He glanced to the tube which contained the unconscious Wargreymon, who was originally one of his Chaos Generals. "Haven't you started transferring Wargreymon's power to Devidramon?"

"No, I haven't," Datamon replied. "It would be too risky for Demidevimon to take on too much of Wargreymon's powers while in his Rookie stage. But now, perhaps Devidramon is ready to begin receiving the power."

"Good. Do it, now!"

Datamon complied, and pressed on the buttons of the console machine. The screen then showed the outline of Wargreymon, with the inside colored red. Then, the same outline imagery for Devidramon appeared beside Wargreymon. The image had grey outline against the black background, and the insides were black as well.

"Begin power transfer now."

The two tubes holding Wargreymon and Devidramon glowed with yellow lights, and the water inside of the tubes bubbled. In his unconscious state, Wargreymon convulsed as his power was drained.

Red color began to fill in Devidramon's formerly black image, as it began to diminish inside Wargreymon's image. As the amount of color increased in Devidramon, it was also decreasing inside Wargreymon simultaneously. The process continued for about half an hour, until the red color inside of Devidramon had been half-filled. The yellow glow from the tubes dimmed gradually, leaving a limped Wargreymon and an energized Devidramon.

"Devidramon now has enough power to digivolve into Ultimate," Datamon announced.

"Don't do it now," Chaos Specter warned. "The tube will break if he digivolves."

However, fate had other plans for the two experimented digimon.

**_WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! _**

The alarm from the computer suddenly blared all over the ruins. The echoing sounds were deafening, and Datamon panicked as he begun pressing on the buttons on the console furiously, trying to stop the alarm. Nothing he did could stop the alarm from emitting the noise, and he gave up instantly. Chaos Specter saw that both tubes containing Devidramon and Wargreymon begun to glow with deep red lights. Both digimon opened their eyes, and to his surprise both digimon had glowing red eyes.

An announcement made by the computer amidst the blaring sounds of the alarm surprised Chaos Specter even more.

_**DE-DIGIVOLUTION**_

"What in the blazes?" he wondered.

His pondering was answered when Wargreymon's body begun to grew in an alarmingly quick state. All his body was enveloped with deep crimson lights, and the tube containing him smashed upon the forceful pressure from Wargreymon's enlarging body. Water spilled out from the tubes as Wargreymon hovered outside the tube. He then grew in size, taking a form of a massive winged grey dinosaur-like digimon with cybernetic implants on some parts of his body.

It then dawned to Chaos Specter what was exactly happening, as a viral MetalGreymon resulted from the transformation. As some of Wargreymon's power had been transferred to Devidramon, he could no longer maintain his Mega form – thus reverted into his Ultimate form to accommodate the less amount of power he had.

MetalGreymon's eyes flashed bright crimson as he eyed Chaos Specter. He then advanced a few steps closer silently towards Chaos Specter, while not taking his eyes off the human.

The Zeed Crystal, earlier embedded on Wargreymon's armor was now attached in the middle of the two missile launchers on his chest. The crystal began pulsating, as if it was MetalGreymon's heart. With every pulse it let out waves of alternating blue and red energy. MetalGreymon then turned to face Devidramon, which was still contained inside the cylindrical glass tube. Roaring loudly, he focused the waves from the crystal towards the dark dragon. The waves enveloped and penetrated the glass barrier of the tube, causing the tube to begin cracking.

Then, the computer made another announcement.

_**DIGIVOLUTION**_

With aid of the powers from Wargreymon and the blue-and-red energy waves, Devidramon's body began to increase in size as well, shattering the tube containing him. He was undergoing a digivolution, and a ball of black energy enveloped him. Wings of Airdramon and Angemon materialized on his back, and the hands of Devimon, SkullGreymon and Kuwagamon replaced his claws. His whole body then changed into a Greymon's body with Garurumon's hind legs. His head morphed into that of Kabuterimon, complete with the helmet, and MetalGreymon's hair sprouting out from the helmet. The ball of black energy exploded, revealing a grotesque monster known only as . . .

"Kimeramon!" Chaos Specter exclaimed. "Finally!"

Kimeramon stood still as a statue, not moving one bit. His head had barely reached the ceilings, and he had to hunch in order to accommodate his massive size and height. The mutant digimon growled in displeasure and looked around him in confusion.

The red and blue waves from the Zeed Crystal then formed two hydra-shaped specters with the same colors as the waves had been. After that, the blue hydra surrounded MetalGreymon's body while the red hydra did the same thing with Kimeramon. An ominous laughter was heard coming from out of nowhere, filling Chaos Specter with dread. He didn't recognize the laughter, but it sounded purely evil and Chaos Specter couldn't help from feeling intimidated.

The swirling hydras then broke apart into bits of data, and went into Kimeramon and MetalGreymon's bodies without the digimon willing it. Both digimon could feel their power increasing, and instantly the red glow from their eyes disappeared.

"What was that all about?" Chaos Specter contemplated with himself. However he didn't have time to think much longer, when . . .

"Heat Viper!"

"Giga Destroyer!"

Suddenly without any provocation, Kimeramon released a jet of flames from his wide-opened mouth, while MetalGreymon unleashed his missiles. Both attacks were aimed solely towards the machines Chaos Specter had set up inside the ruins. Seeing as they were in the path of the attacks, Chaos Specter and Datamon immediately jumped out of the way, and watched in mixed feelings of surprise and horror as the attacks struck all over the machines, destroying it with a single loud explosion.

The entire structure of the ruins shook as the result of the explosion. The floor cracked, while the roof was beginning to collapse. Electrical charges resulted from the ruined machines were beginning to catch up with the waters from the destroyed tanks. As the water was everywhere, Chaos Specter realized that he was in danger of being electrocuted.

"What in the world!" he yelled, and immediately produced his cobra staff. Quickly, he covered himself just in time before the electrical charges made contact with the water. He turned around to save Datamon, but to his horror the little machinery digimon had been brutally electrocuted. His eyes widened upon hearing the screams coming from Datamon before it was deleted.

Kimeramon and MetalGreymon in the meantime had lifted themselves up into the air, breaking up the ceiling even more in the process. MetalGreymon then fired a series of Giga Destroyer towards the ceilings, tearing up a hole leading outside. Kimeramon followed up by unleashed his Heat Viper and widened the opening. As the constitution of Protocol Ruins collapsing, the two digimon flew through the whole and escaped. They cast a glance behind, and saw Chaos Specter being buried alive underneath the rubbles. They cackled upon seeing Chaos Specter's predicament and set off to the sky.

Suddenly the two digimon were intercepted by a Megadramon and a Gigadramon, both were assigned by Chaos Specter to guard the aerial region of the Protocol Ruins. Seeing Kimeramon and MetalGreymon, the two dragons quickly fired their attacks, thinking of them as the enemies. Kimeramon growled impatiently as he evaded the attacks and let loose his Heat Viper again. The raging flames enveloped Megadramon, deleting the dark dragon effortlessly.

MetalGreymon found himself facing the larger, greyer Gigadramon. Gigadramon had used his Gigabyte Wing attack to shower MetalGreymon with numerous missiles erupting from his wings. MetalGreymon intercepted the missiles easily with his Mega Claw, before firing a well-aimed Giga Destroyer directly on Gigadramon's chest, deleting the shadowed dragon instantly.

Then, both of them began to make their way up north, away from the half destroyed ruins.

* * *

As two hours had passed, Ken and Yolei were still inside Digitamamon's Diner. After their initial conversation had kicked off, they found more and more topics to discuss, and were happily exchanging thoughts, ideas and some of their funniest and most embarrassing stories with each other. They didn't even notice how the time had passed as they were too engrossed with their conversation.

It was their digimon who got bored, and they implored for their partners to get them desserts. Ken complied, and ordered eight ice-creams. Digitamamon was confused, seeing that there were only four of them. Both Ken and Yolei explained that they wanted for Noriko, Keiko and their partners to join them for desserts. After all, throughout the two hours they had been here, they saw how hard the two girls had worked. More customers had come over in the past two hours, either for eating there or for a take-away.

"Cut them some slack, Digitamamon," Yolei pleaded. "After all, they deserve a break after slaving themselves to all the customers for two hours."

Digitamamon blushed slightly. "Do you really think that I made the girls work too hard?"

Yolei crossed her arms. "Like, DUH!"

"Besides that, think of how you've managed with their help today. I'm sure you'd never been able to manage it as efficiently as you did today, considering the crowd," Ken pointed out. "Is it always like this everyday?"

"Well, today is weekend," Digitamamon replied. "Business is always better during weekends. And you're right; the girls do deserve their breaks. I'll go and call the girls and their partner. And as for the ice-creams, they're on the house."

"Thanks!" Yolei said gratefully.

"I thought you said no freebies?" Hawkmon asked in confusion. "And now you're giving free ice-creams?"

Digitamamon glared closely at the hawk digimon. "Don't push it. Of course, if you want to pay, then by all means."

Hawkmon gulped. "No thanks. I'll take the ice-cream as free as it is."

Digitamamon then went off to get the desserts. And just then, two humanoid customers stepped into the diner, immediately drawing the attention from everyone inside the diner. One of the customers was obviously female, who seemed to have the qualities of a cat on her. She was a beautiful digimon indeed, with red hair flowing down her back and was dressed in a yellow pants and a red top which left her shoulder bare. The female had dark brown fur covering her skin, and her face was veiled. She wore an assortment of jewelries on her hands, legs and tails.

The other digimon was a fearsome, muscular black-skinned digimon which resembled an Indian deity. With two pairs of muscled hands and three faces, covered with blue, red and yellow masks, the red-haired digimon looked foreboding indeed. He was nearly naked, save for a strategically-placed long scarlet loincloth secured by a white belt. He wore gold bracelets on all four wrists, and gold boots which flared with red fire. On his back was something that looked like a large golden crescent statue, with crimson flames erupting all over.

"They sure look like a matching couple," Yolei whispered to Ken, and giggled.

"I've never seen such digimon," Ken replied. "Hold on a sec while I scan them with the analyzer. . . . . Okay, I've got it. They're Bastemon and Asuramon, both Ultimate level digimon. Bastemon is a Virus type, while Asuramon is Vaccine."

Digitamamon scurried over the newly-arrived customers and greeted them. However, the digimon known as Bastemon raised a clawed hand to stop Digitamamon from speaking.

"Rrrooww . . . we're here for the Digidestined," the Bastemon said with a high-pitched voice that sounded so much like a cat's purring. Her tone sounded cold, although it also had a velvety flow in it.

Ken and Yolei tensed slightly upon hearing what the Bastemon had just said. Were the two digimon up to no good?

"I am known as Catrina, and I'm here to destroy the Digidestined, rrrooww," she added, confirming what Ken and Yolei had suspected earlier.

"Oh no, you don't!" Digitamamon retorted back. "Not in my restaurant!"

Suddenly, both Noriko and Keiko came from the kitchen, each carrying a tray with four bowls of ice-creams on it. Their partners, Penguinmon and Salamon, ran along behind their partners. They set the trays down on the counter and approached Digitamamon.

"I thought I heard somebody mentioning something about the Digidestined?" Noriko asked, and looked around.

"That's us," Keiko declared, and giggled. "We're the newest batch of Digidestined!"

"Here are our partners," Noriko continued, motioning towards Penguinmon and Salamon. Both of them were not aware that the two digimon they were meeting now were on the opposite side.

Ken and Yolei slapped their foreheads morosely, but continued watching from their booth, which was hidden from Catrina or Asuramon. They wanted to know their motives first before revealing themselves. Wormmon and Hawkmon were eager to go out and battle, and had to be restrained by their respective partners.

Catrina twitched her nose slightly. "Rrrooww, I don't remember seeing you two before. But you have partners, so you are Digidestined too. Prepare yourself, brats. I'm here to destroy all the Digidestined."

Noriko and Keiko both gulped. "Uh-oh . . ."

"Not here! Not in my diner!" Digitamamon cried. "Take whatever battle you want to have outside!"

"Look, we don't want to battle you," Noriko tried to reason. "We've never fight anyone before."

"Can we settle it in a peaceful way?" Keiko asked hopefully.

"Nuh-uh-uh . . . you don't exactly have a choice, rrrooww," Catrina said silkily, while brandishing her claws. She began approaching the two girls with claws pointing forward. She had an evil grin plastered on her face as she raised a hand.

Digitamamon, Penguinmon and Salamon immediately jumped forward the two girls and glared towards Catrina.

"I'm warning you," Digitamamon said venomously. "I won't tolerate anyone who fights in my establishment. And I won't let you harm my workers."

"Oh, is that so?" Catrina asked sweetly. "Then you'll be deleted as well."

Ken and Yolei couldn't stand seeing this anymore. Whoever this Catrina was, she was clearly looking for them, not Noriko and Keiko, and certainly not Digitamamon. With that in mind, both of them revealed themselves.

"Hey! Why don't you pick on somebody your own size?" Yolei yelled.

"Don't harm them! It's us you want!" Ken declared. "We're the Digidestined you're looking for."

Catrina saw that the Ken and Yolei had Wormmon and Hawkmon with them. She smiled evilly.

"Well, let's come outside and we'll settle this, rrrooww," Catrina said, and exited the diner. Asuramon merely grunted and followed Catrina's lead.

* * *

Outside, the atmosphere began to tense. Most customers of the diner, to Digitamamon's dismay, had left the diner in a hurry. What really irked him was the fact that they hadn't paid up for their meals, which caused him to lose some of the day's fortune. To vent his anger, he offered to fight alongside the Digidestined as well.

"Just before we start the fight, let me introduce myself first, rrrooww," Catrina said, and raised her head proudly. She then told the crowd of her relation with Chaos Specter, and how she was favored by the Digidestined's new enemy. How she was a lovable pet to the feared inter-dimensional Digital World conqueror, and the higher personal rank she had compared to the Chaos Generals. Then she proceeded on by listing on all her qualities, abilities . . .

" . . . I'm also beautiful, alluring, gorgeous, enchanting, pretty, attractive, smart . . ." the Bastemon droned away, causing the others to sweatdrop in confusion. This digimon sure was vain, they thought.

"So you're his vain pet," Ken interrupted, causing Catrina to stop talking. "Big deal. You're not his partner. A partner is a friend . . . a pet, can technically be defined only as a favored domestic animal to a human."

Catrina's face flushed instantly upon the sarcastic remark. "Rrrooww, take that back! Don't you dare compare me to a mere beast!"

"But you've just said so yourself; you're his lovable pet," Ken pointed out, smirking.

Catrina groaned, and pouted. She tried to think of a perfect retort when again, she was interrupted. This time, it was by the other Digidestined.

"Let's get the battle started!" Yolei said impatiently, and held up her Diginizer of Love. She cast a slight glance to Ken. "So much for a perfect date," she mumbled under her breath.

Ken smiled apologetically, having heard of the silent comment but didn't reply to it. Instead he took out his own Diginizer of Kindness.

Together, they summoned, _"Diginizer, Energize!" _

"**Hawkmon, Digivolve to . . . Aquilamon!"**

"**Wormmon, Digivolve to . . . Stingmon!"**

Both digimon then took to the air, knowing that their opponents didn't have the ability to fly. Thus, they were at the advantage.

Catrina looked at Asuramon with a feisty grin. "Go!"

"Yes, mistress," the muscular deity replied and bowed before he went to battle.

Asuramon raised all of his palms into the air, and summoned red-hot fire from it. Upon command, flames erupted from his body and Asuramon focused the flames to his four palms. The fire, wielded by their master's command, swirled around his palms which had been closed up into fists. Shouting loudly, Asuramon launched his first attack.

"Fire Fist of Shiva!"

Four jets of streaming fire blazed the air towards Aquilamon and Stingmon, and hit them with pin-point accuracy before they could avoid it. Stingmon's armor was scorched slightly, leaving black marks on the otherwise green armor. Aquilamon had few of his feathers burnt, and he felt burning pain all over his body. Their enemy was indeed strong.

Stingmon then decided to take the offensive. "Moon Shooter!"

Rays of poisonous needles showered Asuramon, inflicting the deity with deadly venom. Asuramon tried to stop the needles, and generated a flame wall in front of him. The flames managed to burn off some of the needles, but some had found their way to prick his exposed chest. Asuramon roared in pain as the venom began to spread inside of his body.

This was the perfect opening that Aquilamon had been waiting for. "Blast Rings!"

Aquilamon's attack however was successfully countered by Asuramon when he crossed all four hands over his torso. The golden bracelets he was wearing proved to be a potent shield as they deflected the pink spirals.

But this didn't mean that Aquilamon had given up yet. His horns flared with yellow aura and he began looming towards Asuramon . . .

"Grand Horn!"

. . . And rammed heads-on onto the black deity. Asuramon was knocked off his feet by the sudden force exerted by Aquilamon.

"Score!" Yolei cheered.

Asuramon quickly got up on his feet and assumed a meditating stance, with all palms clasped together. "Multiple Faces!"

After summoning the incantation, his three masks glowed with their respective color, enveloping the black deity with blue, red and yellow lights. Blue aura covered the deity, and the flames around him turned to azure as well. Then the aura and the flames became yellow, before finally resuming its red color.

"Hah!" Asuramon exclaimed triumphantly, and separated his enclosed palms. "Rejuvenation is always a wonderful feeling."

"Oh no!" Ken exclaimed. "According to the analyzer, Asuramon possesses limited healing ability by using his Multiple Faces."

"That is correct, Digidestined," said Asuramon calmly. His voice had an echoing quality which made him more intimidating. "And . . . take this! Fire Fist of Shiva!"

Once again, he unleashed the dreadful attack and aimed it solely towards Aquilamon. However this time around, instead of being red, the flames were now deep purple in color. Aquilamon tried to evade the attack, but the streaming fire then separated into needle-sized mini-flames. They followed the eagle at close range before jamming themselves all over his body. Aquilamon cried in pain and slumped onto the ground.

"Aquilamon!" Yolei cried worriedly. "Are you alright?"

Aquilamon merely moaned. "I feel like I've been pricked by hundreds of poisonous needles."

Ken frowned as something familiar crossed his mind. "That can't be right." He then called on the Digimon Analyzer again, and groaned.

"What is it?" Yolei asked.

"I'm afraid Aquilamon's right . . . Other than minor healing ability, Asuramon can also momentarily duplicate his opponent's attack to use it for his advantage. He must have used Stingmon's Moon Shooter against Aquilamon."

"I'm so sorry, Aquilamon," Stingmon apologized.

"It's not your fault, Stingmon," Aquilamon groaned, and he de-digivolved back into Hawkmon.

Noriko and Penguinmon looked at each other, and nodded.

"Penguinmon, you've got to help Stingmon out there!" Noriko held out a D3 with light brown trimmings towards her partner.

"I'm on it," Penguinmon said confidently, and she was showered with white lights coming from Noriko's D3.

"**Penguinmon, Digivolve to . . . Swanmon!"**

In place of the stout Penguinmon was now a graceful, pink swan-like digimon who was about the same size as Aquilamon. Under her long neck, Swanmon wore a silver metallic chest-plate as armor.

Keiko also took out her D3, which had orange trimmings. "Salamon, you better help out too."

"Let's do it, Keiko," Salamon replied enthusiastically.

"**Salamon, Digivolve to . . . Maildramon!" **

To everyone's amazement, the tiny puppy-like Salamon had digivolved into a gigantic, armored horse-like beast. She was twice as big as Swanmon, and was covered with shining grey armor. Her helmet was made of gold, with blue hair coming out from it. Maildramon had a pair of golden metallic wings growing out from her body, and her feet all ended up with golden talons.

Digitamamon stepped forward. "Count me in, too! These nincompoops have made me lose nearly a day's profit! I'll make them PAY!"

Asuramon merely let out an amused leer after seeing the assembly of digimon in front of him. "Let's see here . . . a bug, a duck, a horse and an egg. Could things get any more ridiculous?"

"Hey, I'm not a duck!" Swanmon protested, and took off to the air. She flapped her wings furiously. "Down Tornado!"

The swan digimon released a whirlwind of white energy towards Asuramon. To her dismay, Asuramon merely brushed away her attack.

"This isn't working! I'll try another one. White Marie!"

This time around, she pointed her wings down towards Asuramon and fired jets of feathers which act like darts. Asuramon tried to brush away the attack again, but Swanmon managed to manipulate the feathers to fly around Asuramon and blast him on many sides. While the attack didn't do much harm to the powerful deity digimon, it did give Maildramon and Digitamamon an opportunity to attack.

"Iron Press!"

Maildramon took off to the sky, and loomed down over Asuramon, tackling him down. Asuramon tried to wriggle free, but Maildramon's weight pressed on to him even harder. Then, Asuramon's yellow mask glowed, and he launched his fiery attack in form of a tornado, deliberately copying Swanmon's earlier attack. The tornado managed to throw Maildramon off his body.

"Nightmare Syndrome!"

But before he could regain his stance, a powerful shadowy energy rammed on his back, making him quiver as nightmares erupted within his mind. Asuramon shook his head and his blue mask glowed, healing him from the attack.

"Fire Fist of Shiva!" he roared, and sent out even more powerful streams of flame towards Digitamamon, Swanmon and Maildramon.

Digitamamon immediately retreated inside his shell for protection, while Maildramon and Swanmon weren't hurt as Armor digimon were better in defense. Besides, Maildramon's armor pretty much protected both digimon from being hurt.

Catrina clicked her tongue in disgust, and darted towards the two Armor digimon.

"Look out!" Stingmon warned, seeing that Catrina was close to Maildramon and Swanmon.

"Rrrooww! Too late! Helter Skelter!" she yelled, and spun around the two armored digimon with by performing a sequence of dances. Her claws and talons were energized with dark energy, and she slashed her opponents mercilessly with them. Swanmon and Maildramon, despite protected by their Armor, were overwhelmed with the intense dark energy generated from Catrina's attack, and reverted back into their Rookie forms after receiving some heavy blows from her. Both Penguinmon and Salamon were badly bruised by the time Catrina had finished with her attack.

"What happened?" Noriko asked in confusion. "How come they have de-digivolved so soon?"

"That's the beauty of my Helter Skelter curse, rrrooww," Catrina replied smugly. "It's got the ability to de-digivolve any digimon. All of you can NEVER stand a chance against the attack, rrrooww."

Stingmon then realized that he was now on his own. Hawkmon was hurt, Digitamamon had retreated into his shell, and the two younger digimon were out of commission. There was only one other option. He had to go further than Champion level to beat Asuramon.

"Hey Stingmon! Let's kick it up a notch," Ken suggested, holding up his Diginizer.

"You've read my mind," Stingmon replied. Beneath his mask, he was grinning.

**:: Transdigivolution ::**

"**Stingmon, Digivolve to . . . Dinobeemon!"**

The younger Digidestined watched in awe as Ken and Stingmon had merged together to become Dinobeemon. They had never seen Transdigivolution before, but had heard of it from one of their friends' encounter with Kari and Gatomon.

"Hiroshi was right!" Noriko said excitedly. "They CAN fuse together . . . to become one!"

"Amazing," Keiko agreed, and looked at her partner. "I wonder when we can do that."

With Dinobeemon, an Ultimate digimon, finally at hand, the situation seemed to be even. The dragon-insect warrior stared towards his two opponents and prepared for another round of fight.

* * *

Back at the half-demolished Protocol Ruins, an armored hand emerged out from the rubbles of the collapsed roof. A loud scream was heard as a black armored figure emerged from the stones. He was Duskmon; apparently Chaos Specter had managed to turn into his digimon form before the whole roof collapsed on him. He pushed out the stones and pulled himself out.

Duskmon grunted in annoyance as he kicked away a few rubbles that got in his way. He was furious for having his hard-thought plan ruined by Kimeramon and MetalGreymon. He would have expected this kind of reaction should Devimon's digital DNA prevalent inside Kimeramon. But no, it seemed that the devil's data remained dormant. Something else seemed to be taking over the two digimon.

"It's that Zeed Crystal," he murmured, and slashed on a stone angrily, cleanly splitting it into two symmetrical halves. Stopping himself to think, Duskmon remembered how two hydra-like spirits emerged from the crystal. One had entered Kimeramon, and another had entered MetalGreymon. He tried putting two and two together, and saw what was happening.

He reverted back to his human form, and smiled sardonically.

"So, Milleniumon, you want to play a little game now? I'll play, but we'll do it MY WAY!"

* * *

-

-

**Author's Note:**

This chapter is actually longer, but I've decided to take out some parts for the next chapter. The inclusion of Noriko, Penguinmon, Keiko and Salamon are meant for filler, just like Hiroshi and Biyomon are in the fifth chapter.

Thanks for the reviews, all of you. I really appreciate them.

**_Custom Magnum_** – Yeah, I'm currently planning for their Transdigivolution scene now. It's quite hard, considering Yolei is the first Digidestined to be partnered with a male digimon (Hawkmon). I've already think of the explanation possible, which I'm sure is mentioned somewhere in Tamers.

**_Quinton Notwen_** – I actually have to look for the meaning of "usurping" for a while (English isn't my first language). Anyway, to me the Digital World of the Digidestined, Tamers, and Frontiers are three different Digital Worlds. I'm guessing that what you mean is that how I'm going to explain Duskmon and Velgamon's existence without violating the concept in Frontier? If that's the case, I already have an explanation set, but it'll be revealed in the end of Vengeance. Stay tuned.

**_Digi fan_** – I have the idea for Tamers to make a cameo, but whether they'll make it into the story or not will depend on the way the story is progressing. But there's an idea to include them in the currently-planned sequel, which will be a 02/03 crossover. I can't really say yet for Frontiers, as I haven't watched it yet.

**_Lodis Lord _**– Not familiar with Ryo? I'm glad that the previous chapter has given you some insight to the most enigmatic character in Digimon. Bear in mind that some of the stuffs are purely made up, although they are based on some facts stated in the series. There are a lot of good Ryo sites I have come across while doing some research on him.

**_J.D. Guy_** – A double review from you! Thanks! The idea of including the ex-Dark Spore kids is just purely meant for fillers, but I do want to include them as they are already Digidestined by the end of 02. But they will not be the major characters in Vengeance. And I'm sure I've answered your question with this chapter.


	27. A Date to Remember

_**VENGEANCE**_

**_Chapter 26 – A Date to Remember_**

_**--------------------------------------------------------------------------**_

-

-

Back in the Velvet Claw, Chaos Specter had already cleaned himself up from his previous scuffle at the demolished Protocol Ruins.

"Chaos AI, launch the global scanner now. Target: Kimeramon and a viral MetalGreymon, previously Chaos Wargreymon."

"_Affirmative. Launching global scanner now . . ."_

The young raven-haired man waited in anticipation as the large main screen flickered. Some beeping noises generated from the integrated computers within the throne room, echoing over the otherwise empty chamber.

"_Scanning completed. Generating visual . . ."_

Images of Kimeramon and MetalGreymon appeared over the screen. Chaos Specter noted that the two of them were taking flight, soaring over the cloudless blue sky. He saw that the two strayed Ultimate digimon were currently over a desert area.

"Give me their location."

"_Subjects are located over the desert regions of the eastern quadrant of East Sector."_

"Name known events that had happened on the place," Chaos Specter instructed. "Scan all battle footages available in the database."

"_Command affirmed. Initiating scanning all available footages . . . Scanning completed. Subjects are currently at the deserts where the battle between the Digidestined and a Mega digimon identified as Milleniumon had taken place, approximately three years, five months, seven weeks, and three days ago."_

A brief snicker came from the young man. "You don't have to be that detailed. But excellent, now that I've known those two's locations it will be easy for me to capture them again. Chaos AI, what is the status of the Digiranium Rings?"

"_All Digiranium Rings are in full capacity."_

"Good," Chaos Specter smiled wickedly. "Even the four mighty Harmonious Ones can't withstand the weakening effect of my Digiranium Rings. What are the odds of two mere Ultimates resisting them as well? Launch them to seize Kimeramon and MetalGreymon immediately."

"_Command affirmed. The Digiranium Rings have been launched. Target: Kimeramon and MetalGreymon. Location: Desert Plains, Eastern Quadrant, East Sector."_

Satisfied, Chaos Specter leaned his back onto the cushiony throne. His eyes then fell on an empty maroon velvet cushion on the throne's right side. The overlord frowned; he had expected to see his favorite pet, Catrina, to be sleeping there as she always did. It was surprising to see that she wasn't there.

"Chaos AI, do you happen to know where Catrina is?" he asked the integrated computer.

"_Affirmative. Catrina has taken off earlier to the East Sector, on a small establishment belonged to a Digitamamon. Earlier the sensors have detected the presence of two targeted Digidestined over there. Catrina has decided to initiate a battle with the Digidestined to win them over for you, and she has also brought along an Asuramon from the Chaos Force."_

Chaos Specter was immediately intrigued. "She must have been so bored to be left out on her own. . ." he said thoughtfully. "This is interesting. She has never been in a battle with the Digidestined before. It's smart of her to bring Asuramon along to back her up. I wonder how she is faring."

"Show me visual."

"_Affirmative."_ The screen flickered, and showed the current battle between Catrina and Asuramon against Dinobeemon.

* * *

For the first few minutes, Dinobeemon seemed to be gaining the upper hand against Catrina and Asuramon. His speed flustered them, and his ability to produce clones of himself baffled them even more. Not to mention that Dinobeemon had been alternating the uses of his Hell Masquerade attack with his Irritant Buzz, confusing and disorienting both enemies at the same time.

Two of Dinobeemon's copies hovered around Catrina and Asuramon, and each produced the Moon Shooter attack. Showered by rains of poisonous needles, both Catrina and Asuramon were weakened a great deal. In previous battles, using the Moon Shooter technique could easily devolve Stingmon back into Wormmon, but luckily with the power boost he had as Dinobeemon, he was able to retain the Ultimate level AND cause harm on the enemies at the same time.

To defend himself, Asuramon once again crossed his arms over his torso. In the meantime, while letting out a meowish scream, Catrina jumped away to safety and powered up to launch her de-digivolution attack.

"Helter Skelter!"

As the dark energy coming from Catrina's attack engulfed Dinobeemon, the insectoid warrior tried his best to protect himself by positioning his clones in front of him. The clones all were besieged by Catrina's dark attack and exploded into data bytes, but to everyone's surprise it didn't produce the desired effect towards the real Dinobeemon. Momentarily the dark energy surrounded Dinobeemon harmlessly before dissipating into wisps of air.

"I don't believe it!" Catrina shouted. "You should be reduced to your pathetic Rookie level by my attack! What trickery is this, rrrooww?"

Dinobeemon smirked upon seeing his female enemy being flustered. "There's no trickery. Apparently, your attack only works on digimon who digivolved the normal way. This is the Transdigivolution we're talking about!"

Catrina seethed in rage and backed off. "Asuramon, finish him!"

"As you wish, mistress," the black deity grunted with an evil sneer. He had recovered enough of his power to battle again. Catrina then retreated to a safe distance and watched the battle ensuing between Dinobeemon and Asuramon.

Asuramon began the attack by producing several jets of fire from his palms and surrounded Dinobeemon with them.

Dinobeemon then took into the air, planning to use his ranged attack to defeat Asuramon. Thus, he began by unleashing his hypersonic wave attack to disorientate his opponent. "Irritant Buzz!"

Asuramon immediately powered up his four fists again to generate a counter attack. "Fire Fist of Shiva!"

However the speed of sound prevailed against the fiery attack and Asuramon immediately dropped to his knees, clutching on his ears with all four hands in a vain attempt to block out the intense buzzing sounds. The intensely high-pitched sounds resulted from Dinobeemon was seemingly piercing to Asuramon's eardrum, causing the deity digimon to lose his balance as well as not being able to attack. Dinobeemon launched the attack again, and this time blasted Asuramon directly on his chest with a concentrated amount of Irritant Buzz again. As a result, Asuramon tumbled on the ground as the result of the sheer force of the attack.

"Darn it, rrrooww! Get up, Asuramon!" Catrina yelled.

Dinobeemon hovered within a safe distance from his already unmoving fallen opponent. Using his enhanced vision, Dinobeemon inspected Asuramon's condition from afar and detected no signs of movement coming from him. He then turned away slightly from Asuramon and focused his eyes on the gaping Catrina.

"You've lost, Catwoman. Take him away back to wherever you came from. I don't want to kill him."

He then turned away and hovered slowly towards his friends.

Catrina however, remained unnaturally calm and didn't reply to Dinobeemon's order. She watched with glee as Dinobeemon turned away from her and the fallen Asuramon, mainly focusing her attention to the digimon she'd brought with her. A thin smile formed from behind the purple transparent veil she was wearing.

"You'd better watch your back, Dinobeemon," she murmured, and her smile widened sinisterly.

Dinobeemon however, thanks to his enhanced hearing, had caught what Catrina was saying to herself. This baffled him momentarily, but Dinobeemon immediately shrugged it off as Catrina not willing to admit defeat. However, when he saw the expressions of his friend, a bad omen dawned to him. He saw their faces contorted with fear, and Yolei was pointing towards him with a frightened look. Her index finger was moving back and forth between Dinobeemon and the empty space beside him.

"_Something's coming from behind us, Ken," _Wormmon warned gravely within his mind.

Hearing the warning, Dinobeemon quickly spun around.

Unfortunately for him, he was too late in doing that, as four flaring fists zoomed towards him.

Dinobeemon found himself being pounded brutally and repeatedly by Asuramon, with no way to defend himself as two of Asuramon's hands were grabbed on his own hands, while the other two were punching and beating his head and torso repeatedly. He wriggled to break free from Asuramon's forceful grabbing, but it only made Asuramon tightened his grip on Dinobeemon's body.

His vision began to blur, and the last thing he saw was a flash of bright red light coming from his back before he limped to unconsciousness.

* * *

Yolei couldn't believe it when she saw Asuramon getting up swiftly without being detected by Dinobeemon. She tried letting out a scream to warn Dinobeemon, but somehow no voice escaped her mouth. She was too panicked and overwhelmed that her voice, for once, had failed her. She then resorted to pointing desperately towards Asuramon, who was getting nearer to Dinobeemon.

Unfortunately, she was too late, because just as Dinobeemon was about to take notice of her warns and turned around, Asuramon had grabbed him with a pair of hands while using another set of arms to deliver powerful blows to the insectoid warrior.

"No! Ken!" she croaked, finally.

She closed her eyes in despair upon seeing Dinobeemon being pounded mercilessly by the black deity digimon. She really wanted to do something, but Hawkmon was still weak. Suddenly, she felt a slight nudge on her leg, and saw her partner.

"Hawkmon?"

"Yolei, I'm willing to fight Asuramon again if you want me to. Rest assured that Dinobeemon will be saved."

Yolei's eyes shined slightly. "But Hawkmon, you're . . . in no condition to fight Asuramon. He's too strong for you."

Hawkmon shook his head. "I'm the least worried about that. What I do care now is that Dinobeemon is in grave danger. If this doesn't stop, then I'm afraid both Ken and Wormmon will be . . ."

"Don't say it!" Yolei cut in quickly, and her brown eyes moistened. She felt herself lost at words again.

"Then allow me to go there and save Dinobeemon. I need you to digivolve me." There was a confident note in the avis digimon's voice. It was obvious that Hawkmon was too determined to be persuaded otherwise.

Yolei was torn in decision. She wanted desperately to help Dinobeemon, but she saw that Hawkmon was still injured and weakened. The little hawk digimon was bruised, and he was limping. How could he go to take on someone like Asuramon, and survive the battle? Letting Hawkmon go to save Dinobeemon was like sending him to his doom.

"I can't," she said, a tear trickled down from one of her eyes, which she wiped quickly with her sleeve. "You'll be killed, Hawkmon! And I won't be able to forgive myself if I let that happen to you. I care about you!"

Hawkmon's face lit up instantly upon the sincere comment from his partner. "I am . . . honored, Yolei. Truly I am. But, I know you care about Ken too. Throughout the whole time I have spent with you, I can see that Ken is special for you. I know for sure, that if Ken is gone then you'll be crushed. It is my duty to protect you from having to experience that kind of feeling. I am willing to make you happy, at all cost, my partner. Let me go there now and save Dinobeemon now."

Yolei knelt down and hugged her partner fiercely. "Do you really think that I would let you walk to your doom just like that? I don't want to lose you Hawkmon! I saw how hard it was for Ken to accept Wormmon's death last year . . . There's got to be another way! I don't want to lose any of you. I love all of you so much; I'd rather have myself lost to that Asuramon!"

Suddenly, as if answering to Yolei's desperation her Diginizer of Love erupted with soothing red lights. The lights engulfed both Yolei and Hawkmon together, giving out its warmth to both of them.

"I guess there is only one way left now," Hawkmon said, realizing what was happening. "Do you feel it, Yolei?"

"I think I do," Yolei replied with slight hesitation, and released Hawkmon from her grasp and watched the red lights around her with awe.

"I feel energized," Hawkmon noted. "This is it! We're going to . . ."

**:: Transdigivolution ::**

Before Hawkmon could finish, he was turned into a brilliant mote of red light and launched towards the sky. Feeling raw power coursing through his body, Hawkmon knew what was going to happen, and let out a confident call of power into the air.

"**Hawkmon, Digivolve to . . ."**

"Hawkmon! That means I'm gonna become a GUYYYYYY!!!!" Yolei screamed, as her body changed into a similar, yet with a human shape, mote of red light.

The two lights coalesced together in the air and resulted in a brilliant flash of red light over the clear blue sky. When the lights had dissipated, both motes were nowhere to be seen.

Instead, a new humanoid figure appeared, surrounded by reddish-pink aura around it.

The digimon looked like a cross-breed between a human and an eagle. From waist-down, separated only by a grey belt with a red jewel encrusted in the middle, was a pair of shapely feminine legs covered with brown feathers of an eagle down towards the knee. Below the knee, the digimon's legs were shelled by hard yellow skin which extended all the way to the toes, and bore the shape of an eagle's legs. Two, larger toes extended to the front and a smaller one towards the back – and all toes ended up with grey talons. From the back of the waist, brown tail feathers grew all the way down to the heels.

Above the narrow waist was a slightly muscular, yet still feminine, lithe body covered with a skin-tight suit over the equally white feathers that were covering the whole upper portion of the digimon's body. A metallic plate with black-grey straps covered the digimon's apparently budding chest, with steel shoulder pads adorning the digimon's shoulders. White feathers with red tips protruded out from the forearms, and down the forearms the humanoid hands seemed to be larger than normal, and sharp pink nails adorned the five fingers of the digimon. The digimon's head was perhaps the most humane of all, with the lower portion of the face revealed a fair skin and a mouth. Long, messy, reddish brown hair escaped from the red helmet worn on the head. Under the helmet, the digimon's eyes were covered by a metallic visor with long-extended white ear-shaped extensions with purple feathers growing out on the ends.

This new digimon was a familiar one, but there was something which was evidently different about it. However, the name remained the same.

" **. . . SYLPHIMON!" **

By using the power of Transdigivolution, Yolei and Hawkmon had merged together and formed . . . a feminine Ultimate level digimon that bore so much resemblance to the Silphymon resulted from the DNA Digivolution between Aquilamon and Gatomon.

And the name was slightly different too, in way of pronouncing and spelling.

Sylphimon was about to inspect her new features when she suddenly heard a moan blaring in her mind.

"_AAAAAHH!"_

"_Hawkmon? We did it! We've become Sylphimon!"_

"_Oh goodie . . . You know, I was actually expecting a MALE version of me, not THIS!"_

"_Hey! It's not so bad! Besides, I kinda like this form. A form like Angewomon is too girly for my taste, but Sylphimon is definitely cool."_

"_Easy for you to say, Yolei. I can't imagine how Veemon, Patamon, Wormmon and Armadillomon would look at me now when they saw me in, in . . . THIS form!"_

"_Oh . . . okay. I take it that you don't like Sylphimon?"_

"_No, I . . . I thought I was going to become Silphymon. I thought YOU are going to be the one who would snap, upon being Silphymon! But . . ."_

"_But what?"_

" _. . . I guess it isn't too important a matter now. Truth be told, digimon are not actually divided into genders, despite their features."_

"_Really? I think Sylphimon is a female . . . but you, Aquilamon, Shurimon and Halsemon are definitely MALE!"_

"_Now see here, I think we might want to save YOUR BOYFRIEND and his PARTNER from impending doom now, right? We'll have this talk later."_

_

* * *

_

"Amazing!" Noriko exclaimed, upon seeing Yolei and Hawkmon merged together into Sylphimon.

"She's beautiful!" Keiko added, admiring Sylphimon's looks from afar.

"All my life, I've never seen anything like this," Digitamamon breathed in awe. "I can use this fantastic event to promote my diner!"

Both girls were momentarily surprised to hear the Ultimate digimon's reaction. "DIGITAMAMON!"

* * *

Catrina watched with glee as Asuramon finally tossed Dinobeemon on the ground. The insectoid warrior was barely conscious after receiving heavy blows from the strong Vaccine. He then drifted into unconsciousness.

"Pity," Asuramon grunted. "I was hoping for a good fight. But never mind, the task is done."

"Good work, Asuramon," Catrina said, smiling. "That's one Digidestined down for the master. Rrrooww, finish him now, Asuramon!"

"With pleasure, mistress," Asuramon responded, and raised all his hands up. Raging flames erupted, and Asuramon began to call on his special technique, this time channeling all his power to deliver a final blow towards the fallen Dinobeemon.

"Fire Fist . . ."

However he was interrupted when a glaringly pink energy ball rammed into his face, causing him to lose his footings. Asuramon was thrown nearly ten feet away and crashed onto the ground near where Catrina was standing.

"What?" Catrina gasped, as she saw an impressive bird-woman digimon appearing. "Who are you, rrrooww?"

The newcomer smirked. "You can call me . . . Sylphimon! And don't you dare harm my friend anymore."

Hearing the voice, Catrina came into realization. "I get it. The girl and the bird, right?"

"That's right, kitty-cat," Sylphimon said smoothly. "And now, we are one!"

"_Hey what do you know? You rhymed, Yolei."_

Catrina fumed upon the seemingly insult coming from Sylphimon. "Can't you even call me by the right name? That insect friend of yours kept calling me Catwoman, and now you with that kitty-cat thing."

"Oh, stop your whining," Sylphimon cut in. "I'll call you whatever I want now. Let's see, how about P.C.?"

"_Pretty crazy?"_ Hawkmon supplied, from within Sylphimon's mind. She could even hear the little hawk digimon snickering.

"Huh?" Catrina asked, confused. "What's that?"

"It's 'Plain Cat' . . . and it suits you," Sylphimon answered. "Because you're just some dumb cat and a somebody's pet. Hah! I know a certain cat digimon who's far smarter, cuter and more adept in fighting than you. And to top it off, she's definitely an ANGEL."

"Why you!" Catrina screamed. "I'll show you! Vampire Dance!"

She spun herself once, emitting out orange-colored aura from her body. Hordes of orange bats surrounded with dark energy erupted from the aura, and Catrina skillfully directed all the bats towards her enemy in the same manner a Myotismon or a LadyDevimon would have done.

Sylphimon saw the incoming attack, and began calling on her own special technique as well. Pink aura began surrounding her, and she raised herself towards the sky before zooming straight into the incoming bats. The bats burned away into data bytes upon contact with the pink aura, and Sylphimon was unharmed.

"Dual Sonic!"

Sylphimon then spread her arms wide and released a pink duplicate of herself, made out of the pink aura surrounding her earlier, towards Catrina. On its way towards the targeted opponent, Sylphimon's duplicate burned away the remaining bats that were hovering around Catrina with ease before it rammed full-force against her.

Catrina however managed to remain standing, despite the heavy blow. But it did leave her disoriented momentarily, which was enough for Sylphimon to deliver yet another attack. And this time, it was personal and up-close as Catrina was about to discover painfully herself.

_**SLLLAAAPP!**_

"OWWW! Why you!" **_SLLAAPP!_**

"This is . . ." **_SLLAAPP_** ". . . what you'll get . . ." **_SLLAAPP_** ". . . for messing with . . ." **_SLLAAPP_** ". . . MY FIRST DATE!!" **_SLAAAPP!!_**

"AAIIIEE! Why you rotten nymph!" **_SLLAAAPP!_** "RROOOWW!!"

Similar to the way Angewomon and LadyDevimon had fought each other, Sylphimon, out of anger of Catrina, had pursued the same method of fighting. She had launched herself full-force towards Catrina and delivered slaps onto the catwoman's face with her strong palms.

Catrina was infuriated by this, and unwittingly responded in the same manner.

The two female digimon continued to fight in this manner for a while, drawing confusion from the spectators around them.

"I dare not cross their path," Digitamamon gulped.

"She rocks," both Noriko and Keiko commented at the same time.

"Go Sylphimon!!" Penguinmon and Salamon cheered excitedly.

Asuramon had gotten up from the sneak attack he'd received from Sylphimon earlier. He saw the vicious cat fight happening between his mistress and the newcomer, Sylphimon, and shuddered upon the sight. Backing off to a safe distance, he used whatever time he had to recuperate.

* * *

In the meantime, Dinobeemon also had come round, awoken by the sounds of the commotion which was currently happening. Staggering slightly, he stood up and flexed all his dragon-like muscles, and saw the reason of the noises. He gaped slightly upon seeing Catrina and an unknown, yet familiar, digimon exchanging slaps, punches, and kicks. They were also seen pulling each other's hairs and clawing their sharp nails onto each other.

"Wow, is that Silphymon? That means Yolei and Hawkmon . . ." he said, and sweatdropped.

The fight happening between the 'Silphymon' and the Bastemon was definitely amusing, while a little gory at the same time, judging by how much both fighting sides were injured.

"_I don't see Yolei and Hawkmon anywhere,"_ Wormmon said, as Dinobeemon scanned his surroundings. _"That digimon . . . looks like Silphymon to me. A girlish version of Silphymon, to put in words correctly. I wonder who he, or she, is."_

Dinobeemon chuckled, and launched the Digimon Analyzer to get to know of the new digimon in front of him.

**----------------- DIGIMON ANALYZER ------------------  
Name** : Sylphimon  
**Attribute** : Data  
**Level** : Ultimate  
**Type** : Warrior  
**Specialty** : Flying, Speed

**Attacks **: Top Gun, Dual Sonic, Blast Rings, Grand Horn  
**Power Level** : 72

The Transdigivolution between the Digidestined of Love and her partner results into a feminine derivative of Silphymon. This digimon possesses an unrivalled speed and is an adept fighter, employing the power and grace of the wind.

**-------------------------------------------------------------**

"_And combined with Yolei's temper the result could be way too DEADLY!"_ Wormmon laughed. _"Oh, poor Hawkmon! He becomes a girl-mon!"_

Dinobeemon shook his head slightly. "Hush, Wormmon. Remember Jewelbeemon?"

"_I rest my case . . ."

* * *

_

"This ends now, kitty-cat!" Sylphimon cried, and the extensions of her visor glowed. Earlier facing backward, they were raised upwards and pointed towards the front before turning into sturdy white horns.

"Grand Horn!" She screamed, and rammed her head straight onto Catrina's chest.

The force that accompanied the attack caused Catrina to choke out blood. She was hurled backwards and crashed onto a tree in the process. However to Sylphimon's surprise, the lady-cat merely got up back and smirked.

"I'll teach you to play me for a fool, Sylphimon!" She hissed, and spread her arms wide. Black aura surrounded her, and she underwent a transformation. Earlier there was a beautiful cat goddess, now all Sylphimon could see was a huge dark panther with faint black spots on her coat.

"RRROOWW!" Catrina roared; her voice too had changed from the sugary-sweet tone into that of a fierce lioness's roar. She leapt into the air gracefully and landed on her feet just a few feet away from Sylphimon. "RRROOWW!"

"Eww, a black cat. It's supposed to bring bad luck," Sylphimon said distastefully. "To you, of course, because you're still going down."

"RRROOOWWW!!"

Sylphimon shook her head. "Do all that roaring really necessary?"

"Need a hand?" suddenly Dinobeemon appeared on her side. "Nice form, Yolei."

"Thanks Ken, and no, I don't need a hand to fight this pathetic cat," Sylphimon groaned. "Besides, this fight between me and her is personal, and you are hurt. Go and rest, and do me a favor will you. Keep an eye on that Asuramon for me. I don't wanna have him interfering when his annoying mistress broke a nail or something."

Dinobeemon raised both hands upwards and backed away slightly. "Whatever you say, Yolei."

As Dinobeemon flew away, Catrina took the opportunity to attack the distracted Sylphimon. However the swift warrior saw this, and leapt into the air. Grinning, Sylphimon pulled her right leg backwards, and launched a powerful kick directly on Catrina's head directly on the forehead. Little did she know that she had just sealed her victory by launching the simple attack.

Catrina was thrown backward again, and sprawled onto the ground. She unwittingly reverted back to her humanly shape, and felt weak all over her limbs. Her vision obscured, Catrina also felt a splitting headache which rendered her defenseless. She rubbed her forehead, feeling slightly dazed. Then she realized that Sylphimon had just delivered a strong kick on her head while – her weak place – while in her cat form.

"Aww . . . little poor kitty hurts her little head," Sylphimon said sarcastically. Then her tone became grim as she added, "Go away now, catwoman, before I change my mind."

The defeated Bastemon shot her foe a death glare. "I really hate you, you know that? No one's ever done this to ME before!"

"Oh boo hoo! That's just too bad!" Sylphimon retorted.

Catrina narrowed her large blue eyes. "This isn't over yet Sylphimon. I'll be back someday, mark my words, rrrooww. I'll get you for this. Asuramon!"

From his safe distance, Asuramon quickly got up upon being called by his mistress.

"Finish them, AT ALL COST! Either that or don't ever come back! Rrrooww!" With the command delivered, Catrina snapped her finger and disappeared in a wave of dark purple lights.

"Come back here, you fraidy-cat!" Sylphimon shouted, punching the air furiously with her large fists disdainfully. "I'm not done with you yet!"

"_We'll get her next time, Yolei,"_ Hawkmon said soothingly.

Sylphimon moaned frustratingly in response. "Oh darn it, I almost had her!"

* * *

Asuramon saw his chance was thinning, with having two Ultimate digimon against him. Dinobeemon was strong enough an opponent, but now with the fiery Sylphimon against him as well, the deity digimon was slightly shaken.

Nevertheless, he was already given a command and was determined to see it done.

Seeing Sylphimon as a bigger threat, Asuramon decided to take her on first. He powered up his fists and began attacking the unsuspecting sylph digimon, who was currently lamenting her loss of a chance to defeat his mistress.

"Fire Fist of Shiva!"

Grinning evilly, Asuramon watched as his flames set off towards Sylphimon. Should the sylph remain in her position; the fire would catch up to her and burn her to ashes. He could already imagine his mistress's glee when she heard of his victory against Sylphimon.

Unfortunately for him, this was not meant to be when somebody had unexpectedly intercepted the attack.

"GAAAHH! That insect!" he screamed, without even looking at the interceptor. Then he got a good look on the one who had taken on the blast and groaned. "Stupid egg."

* * *

Dinobeemon felt his heart nearly skipping a beat when Asuramon's flames were about to catch on the unsuspecting Sylphimon, and quickly jumped to try and stop the attack. However he was too much drained of his energy from the earlier scuffle with Asuramon, and it cost him his quick speed.

It was lucky for Sylphimon that Digitamamon also had thought of rescuing her, by jumping in her way. The flames engulfed the Ultimate digimon, and all those who were around screamed in shock. There was no way Digitamamon could have survived the intense fire.

Sylphimon was quickly alerted upon the sudden blazing heat erupting around her, and turned around just in time to see Digitamamon being burnt by Asuramon's fire. She yelped in horror, and quickly jumped on reflex into the air to avoid the fire.

"Digitamamon?" she called. "Are you alright?"

No answer came, and when the flames subdued all Sylphimon saw was a black, oval shaped form of Digitamamon, laying there motionless. His legs and the hole which showed his face weren't there; only a burnt eggshell remained.

"You sneak! Look at what you've done to Digitamamon!" Sylphimon shouted angrily. She quickly gathered the elemental energy around her in both hands, and formed a pink fireball. Her hands glowed with pink energy as well as the fireball she was forming grew larger.

"Top Gun!"

Sylphimon directed her right hand forward, in Asuramon's direction and thrust it in his direction. It blasted Asuramon directly on the chest and sent him staggering backwards. But Asuramon was undaunted; he rushed forward again to attack Sylphimon again. However he was again intercepted, this time by the one and only Dinobeemon.

"Irritant Buzz!"

Another attack hit him onto the chest again, but seeing the determined looks Asuramon's three faces had Dinobeemon knew his attack won't suffice. Unleashing a glowing purple blade on his dorsal wrist armor, he cried out,

"Spiking Strike!"

And then, he struck his blade into one of Asuramon's four upper limbs.

Asuramon gasped as the arm struck by Dinobeemon's attack convulsed involuntarily. Dinobeemon withdrew his blade and observed with grim satisfaction as data particles began to be extracted out from the injured limb.

The deity was infuriated for having lost an arm. One hand, of his upper pairs, was gone, leaving him looking really odd with only unbalanced three arms left. However far was he from giving up as he prepared another attack, ignoring the piercing pain he was experiencing at the moment.

"GAAAHH!! Fire Fist . . ."

"Dual Sonic!" A rush of pink energy slammed onto Asuramon's remaining single upper arm, which was conveniently raised at the moment. It was instantly deleted after being engulfed by the pink energy.

Dinobeemon turned around and saw Sylphimon hovering behind him, her face set.

"I'm really getting tired of him, Ken," she said. "What do you think? Is Asuramon beyond saving, or is there still hope for him to be spared?"

"Looks like he's here on free will," Dinobeemon noted. "And he's a menace to everyone here. Just look at what he'd done to Digitamamon."

"That attack was meant for ME," Sylphimon pointed out dismally. "You're right. Asuramon's evil. He needs to be deleted. Kari has done it, TK has done it . . . and, so can I . . ."

"On a count of three," Dinobeemon said, and energized his wrist armor. "One."

"Two." Sylphimon generated a pink fireball with one hand.

"Three! Moon Shooter!"

"Top Gun!" Rather than releasing the fireball, Sylphimon's attack had a new twist. The fireball on her hand then released a powerful pink laser ray towards Asuramon, combining with Dinobeemon's purple ray of needle attacks to make one joint attack.

The joint attack was too much for Asuramon to handle, and with a deafening scream the black deity digimon was finally deleted.

Sylphimon sighed. She, or rather, Yolei, had once a hard time killing digimon. It still affected her to just delete a digimon, even though the digimon was blatantly evil. During the fight with a LadyDevimon from the Daemon Corp the previous year, she had hesitated to let Silphymon in doing so. However when LadyDevimon attempted to harm Yolei, Silphymon had stepped in and destroyed her with one final blast.

"You okay?" Dinobeemon asked, concerned.

"I think so . . ." Sylphimon replied back. "I feel like the Terminator, or something. But I'm okay."

"Glad to hear it," Dinobeemon nodded. "I mean the part when you said you're okay."

Sylphimon grinned. "Sure."

* * *

To everyone's relief, Digitamamon was pretty much unharmed thanks to his hard-as-diamond shell. He had awoken to find himself being surrounded by the four Digidestined, four destined digimon, Veggiemon and Tapirmon.

"Well, what are you looking for?" he demanded.

Yolei and Ken snickered. "You've been out cold for nearly a couple of hours now, Digitamamon."

A dawn of comprehension filled Digitamamon. "That long?"

"Yeah," Yolei replied. "And . . . I really want to thank you for stepping in line of Asuramon's attack for us back there, Digitamamon. You saved our lives."

"Oh well, your welcome," Digitamamon replied gruffly. "You OWE me for this, y'know?"

Yolei sweatdropped. "You want me to work here?"

Digitamamon's yellow eyes narrowed, giving himself a grinning-like expression. "No freebies, you know it."

"But Digitamamon," Hawkmon cut in. "This event will definitely boost up your business. Think about it; words will get around of you, the manager, being the hero of the day for saving a girl's life from a bad digimon."

Yolei frowned, but Ken immediately caught up to what Hawkmon was doing.

"That's right! Everyone will want to see the heroic Digitamamon now," he added, to which Hawkmon nodded approvingly.

"Reporters will flood over to get exclusive interviews from you," Wormmon supplied.

"Your restaurant will be promoted to all over the Digital World," Noriko said.

"You'll be famous!" Keiko exclaimed, giggling.

"I'll be sure to call on my relatives to interview for the position of chefs for future diner chains," Veggiemon said, unexpectedly.

"Yeah, all Tapirmon love waiting tables!" Tapirmon chirped.

"You'll have lots of money in no time," Salamon said.

"You'll be featured in the DIGIMON magazine for sure, as the Digital World's most famous entrepreneur," Penguinmon said, earning odd looks from all those who present.

All, except Digitamamon, who had a dreamy look on his blackened inner shell.

"Oh shucks," he said bashfully. "You really think so?"

"Sure we do," Hawkmon said.

"Well, in that case, forget the thing about working here, you girls. I don't wanna make a bad impression for forcing un-paying customers laboring themselves in my diner! Off you go!"

"Oh, thanks Digitamamon!" Yolei exclaimed brightly.

Noriko and Keiko shook their heads slightly. "We'll still be coming here though, Digitamamon. We love it here, and we'll work here in exchange of the knowledge we'll get from you and Veggiemon."

"Sure. But for now, let's close up the establishment. We'll have the rest of the day off!" Digitamamon said happily.

The Ultimate digimon then shooed all of them out from the diner and bid them farewell pleasantly.

"Let's go home," Ken said, smiling.

"You two wanna come with us?" Yolei offered the two younger girls. "We can open Digi-Ports virtually anywhere, without the need of using computers."

"Sure!" both Noriko and Keiko said.

"Digi-Port open!" Yolei exclaimed and pressed the right button on her Diginizer. A red gate of light opened in front of them instantly.

All of them then went through the portal, and ended up at the park where Ken and Yolei had met up earlier. After that, the younger girls politely said their goodbyes and went home with their de-digivolved partner digimon, who were in their In-Training forms once they had stepped out from the portals.

"Not bad for our first date," Yolei murmured, as the young girls disappeared from sight.

"Yeah . . . unforgettable, if you ask me," Ken replied. "It's the day you and Hawkmon Transdigivolve into Sylphimon!"

Wormmon snickered. "Tell me Hawkmon, how does it _feel_ to become Sylphimon?"

"The same feeling you felt when you were Dinobeemon!" Hawkmon snapped back, and Wormmon laughed hysterically.

"Be quiet, Wormmon," Ken admonished, but a slight smile formed on his face as well. Yolei rolled her eyes good-naturedly.

"Wait till the others find out about this! Ooh, I can't wait to hear Veemon and Armadillomon's responses!" Wormmon giggled.

"Why you!" Hawkmon roared, and tackled the caterpillar digimon. The two digimon then chased each other around the empty park, Wormmon still laughing, and Hawkmon chasing and yelling like mad.

Both Yolei and Ken shook their heads. Then, Ken saw an unoccupied swing nearby, and beckoned it to Yolei.

"I'm too old for that," Yolei said, clicking her tongue in distaste.

"Oh come on, you're not THAT old!" Ken laughed, and pulled Yolei gently towards the swing. "It'll be fun! You sit, and I push the swing. It's a classic way of dating."

Yolei smiled, and blushed. "A classic way for _kids_ to date . . . but oh well; who says we're grown up anyway?"

"That's the spirit," Ken replied, grinning, and motioned for Yolei to sit on the black leather swing. He then grasped on the metal chains that held the leather seats and cried, "On your mark, get set, GO!"

The two Digidestined then enjoyed the rest of the quiet afternoon there, enjoying each other's company and watching their partners' antics against each other. Both Yolei and Ken were content; despite having to deal with digimon on the day when they were going out together for the first time ever, their first date was indeed a memorable one after all.

* * *

-

-

**Author's Note:**

This chapter is supposedly for the one year anniversary **_"Vengeance"_** has been online on , but a bad case of fever pushed it a couple of days forward. Sylphimon is obviously based on Silphymon, with the spelling being closer to its word origin "sylph". In order to differentiate Silphymon and Sylphimon, I have chosen to use the Japanese attack names for Sylphimon.

**_Quinton Notwen_** – Thanks for the review. Actually, the power levels for the digimon are a concept I've adapted from a different anime. And your input for the Transdigivolution between Yolei and Hawkmon are indeed hilarious, but not the way I have in mind.

**_Digi Fan_**, **_Lodis Lord_** – Thanks for reviewing; I hope you'll enjoy this chapter.

**_J.D. Guy_** – Thank you for the most heartwarming review . . . I was going to update with this chapter until I saw another review coming for the previous chapter. Throughout the whole year I was writing this (has it really been one year?) I constantly try to find ways to improve myself. The early chapters were done with so little experience; and actually before this fic was posted there WAS another earlier version of Vengeance. It had ten chapters done, but I doubted anyone had the chance to read it just yet as I've taken them down after realizing that it was going nowhere. I still keep the fic, which somehow reminded me of howI was back then. That's why I have started revamping some of the earlier chapters, beginning with the prologue.

Anyway, as to your review: it was much easier to set up Ken and Yolei for a slightly romantic deviation from the usual action-adventure genre this fic has, as we all know how they will end up in future. It's my first time toying with the romance genre so hopefully it'll turn out OK. Your last question about Chaos Specter having any family or friends, I have to say that this **IS** a very good question. Actually, it's a plot point of why he is who he is now . . . so I guess we'll have to wait and see. I'll be exploring Chaos Specter's history in much later parts of both Vengeance and my other fic, Legends of the Digidestined.


	28. Mind over Matter

_**VENGEANCE**_

**_Chapter 27 – Mind over Matter_**

_**--------------------------------------------------------------------------**_

-

-

The land was barren, with no traces of trees or water within a hundred mile radius. Only the yellowish brown sand were seen in each and every direction, made hot by the warm rays of the sun which shone brightly over the cloudless sky. Once in a while, one could see a few digimon made to stand the harsh condition of the desert passing by, ranging from the rookie to champion levels. However, those occurrences were almost rare as many preferred to stay within the shade during the day, and only come out during nightfall where the temperature was cooler.

Almost being the key word here. This day however, was not one of the normal days for the desert of East Sector.

Kimeramon and MetalGreymon landed on the sandy grounds smoothly, emitting only an ignorable thud and smokes generated from the sands. The two ultimate digimon uttered no words; their expressions bore the looks of utmost confusion. Despite their quiet outlook, within their minds a voice spoke.

"_Excellent, my children. Now, look for the remains of my old castle. It is around here somewhere, that I am sure."_

Both obeyed the voice inside their minds, and began to walk straight. Once in a while, they would stop and scanned the whole badlands before resuming their quest. The hot weather didn't seem to bother them at all, despite any normal digimon would have wanted to stop for a break or for a rest. They were like drones, with only one mission at hand.

"_It is a good thing, eventually, for my decision to leave a portion of myself back in this world before battling that boy . . . Ryo . . . in the past. But, how unfortunate it is that a portion of me that did go to the Digital World's past is now residing within that dreadful Monodramon, and somehow making him strong enough to stay in his ultimate level. That Ryo is behind of this, him and that strange Digivice of his. I have never foreseen the event of him using the DNA Digivolution power to bind me to that pitiful rookie!"_

As they were approaching a giant lump of sands, Kimeramon and MetalGreymon suddenly stopped. It seemed like they were waiting for a command.

But, the one who were controlling them seemed to take no notice, as it dwelled on its memories of the past.

"_I wonder where Ryo is now. Is he in this same dimension, or in another? The memory of this MetalGreymon seems to store no information of him."_

Then, Kimeramon and MetalGreymon let out a growl, alerting the one within their minds instantly. They were standing in front of a huge pile of golden sands, and nothing seemed to be out of ordinary with the pile. In fact, it looked just the same as any other sand piles around the desert.

"_Here? Inside the sands? Well, what are you waiting for? Clear the sands now."_

Kimeramon instantly fired his Heat Viper towards the lump of sands. Upon impact, the sands were blown away, leaving a huge hole. Nothing could be seen inside the rounded cavity, so Kimeramon sent his signature move once more. More sands were blown away, and the hole was now a hundred meters deep. Onyx stones were barely seen as they were still half-covered by the sands.

"_Excellent! It seems that you have uncovered the roof. Now look for the trap door. I have made a trap door connecting the tunnel within the mountain where my beloved castle once stood with a secret basement hideout. Do it now, and the Digital World shall once again be graced with the return of Milleniumon!"_

But both digimon didn't respond. Instead, they looked as if they were alerted of something. They jumped out from the hole and flew onto the air. The reason of their alertness instantly became apparent.

Six black rings were seen approaching them from the direction where they came. Using MetalGreymon's memory, Milleniumon instantly learned that those were Chaos Specter's Digiranium Rings. They were used to weaken any digimon; those who were weak could easily be de-digivolved by them.

"_Digiranium? Those metals supposedly contradict the use of Chrome Digizoid, and can weaken even the Harmonious Ones. Where in the world did that human obtain those metals? The Digiranium does not exist in this digital plane."_

Another scanning over MetalGreymon's mind provided Milleniumon with the answer. He learned that Chaos Specter had traveled into several of the Digital World's alternate dimensions, and one of the dimensions housed the Digiranium metal. Milleniumon's own knowledge of the Digiranium came from the fact that his separated half had once conquered multiple dimensions, as Zeed Milleniumon. While they were separated, their link remained true and whatever Zeed Milleniumon had encountered and accomplished, the Milleniumon residing inside the Zeed Crystal would sense it too. However the bond was broken when Zeed Milleniumon was forced into merging with Monodramon back in the past.

" _A smart human that Chaos Specter is, but I am not stupid either. My intellects far rules than any mediocre human such as him, or any of Azulongmon's precious DigiDestined. Ryo may be the only one who has outsmarted me, but then again . . . he is, after all, supposedly destined to be MY partner."_

Milleniumon let a soft sigh, before regaining back his composure.

"_I will not be fooled by a human again! Kimeramon, MetalGreymon . . . attack!"_

Kimeramon rose quickly towards the air, and opened his massive jaw. "Heat Viper!"

"Giga Destroyer!" cried MetalGreymon, still uprooted on the desert land. The missile launchers embedded on his chest opened, and two black destroyers shot out. They joined together with Kimeramon's attack and caused a massive deafening explosion over the badlands. The ground shook momentarily and a temporary sand storm resulted over the vicinity. But, both ultimate digimon were unfazed.

"_Well done, children. That is the end of the rings. Resume the task I have set you to do now."_

Thick, grey smokes erupted as the result of the collision between the rings and the two ultimate digimon's attacks. Milleniumon thought that that was the end of it, as the smokes cleared revealing six static Digiranium rings, all lying on the ground without any sign of movements. Electricity crackled around each Digiranium ring, which Milleniumon simply brushed off as a sign of the rings malfunctioning.

But, being a careful, calculated digimon as he was, Milleniumon decided that it was harmless to check the real status of the rings. He didn't want to be interrupted again, and to him it was best if he got rid of the rings once and for all.

Deciding that Kimeramon would be better off with the digging task due to his multiple limbs, Milleniumon ordered MetalGreymon to approach the rings. The ultimate digimon rose from the crater once more, approaching the seemingly dead rings. No other reaction came from the rings. Milleniumon made a quick assumption that the rings were already dysfunctional from the powerful impact, and was satisfied. MetalGreymon then turned around to return to the crater and resume the digging task he was set to do.

However, by turning around, Milleniumon failed to notice that one of the rings had suddenly crackled back to life.

The single, functional ring shot up towards MetalGreymon, clasping itself on the unsuspecting digimon's tail. MetalGreymon roared as his power was drained by the ring. It then released a green aura, and instantly the remaining five rings crackled to life again. The ring had absorbed MetalGreymon's energy, and transferred his power to the others.

Milleniumon was perturbed. _"I have been tricked! Damn that rings!"_

Two more rings hovered around MetalGreymon, generating powerful electrical bolts and formed a barrier around MetalGreymon. The third ring unclasped itself from the tail and hovered with the other two. A green force field was subsequently emitted around MetalGreymon.

Kimeramon flew out from the crater and fired his Heat Viper once more towards the three rings on way to him. The rings were unaffected, and flew around in separate directions as if having a mind of their own. They generated enough bolts of electricity to counter Kimeramon's continuous fire assault.

"_No! Do not let those blasted rings capture you, child. Attack!!"_

Fueled by the command given to him, Kimeramon launched over the air as the three Digiranium rings made their way towards him. The chimera digimon let loose a stream of fire from his mouth, only to be countered by mass of electric currents showered by the rings. While strong, Kimeramon had the disadvantage of being large in size, which made him slower than the rings which moved as fast as a blink of the eye. The rings quickly surrounded Kimeramon in all direction and generated a force field around him.

"_No! NO!!"_

_

* * *

_

Grinning with satisfaction, Chaos Specter leaned back against his throne, his emerald green eyes still fixed on the main screen. The Digiranium rings had done the assigned task satisfactorily, and Chaos Specter knew it too. After all, the rings did catch the four Harmonious Ones, what chance did two ultimate digimon really have against them? Watching as both Kimeramon and MetalGreymon were contained inside two deep green spherical force-field, Chaos Specter issued the command for Chaos AI to shrink the two Ultimates and transport them back to the Velvet Claw.

Earlier, the tubes linking the four Harmonious Ones from the digital dimension in which they were imprisoned had been removed into a larger chamber in one of the lower floors of the flying fortress. Chaos Specter's main intention of doing that was to have more space inside the chamber whenever Chaos Seadramon was around. The serpent general himself was large enough to occupy a fifth of the chamber, and the four thrones occupied another fifth.

His thought was interrupted by a loud series of complains, coming from a voice whom Chaos Specter knew only too well.

"That rotten, stupid, ugly, irritating Sylphimon is really getting on my nerves! How dare of her . . . owww . . . those slaps! I'm gonna get her for this!"

Smirking, Chaos Specter calmly asked, "Back already, Catrina?"

It was Catrina, and she had already de-digivolved back into her champion form. Both her cheeks were slightly red, and she herself was fuming in anger, which amused Chaos Specter. The BlackGatomon, not noticing her master's presence yet, scowled upon the question and merely let out a soft hiss in response. She then looked up and saw her master observing her intently, and her face dropped in surprise.

"Oh . . . I . . . don't expect to see you, master. I thought you're still at the lab. Chaos AI told me so," she stammered.

Chaos Specter frowned slightly. "Let's just say that I've already taken care of my business there. However what I'm interested now is to know what you were up to, by attacking the DigiDestined just recently. Not to mention, bringing along another digimon with you."

Catrina's eyes drooped down as she sighed. "I just wanted to take down the DigiDestined while you're gone, but . . . I've . . . failed!"

"Failed? No, no . . ." said Chaos Specter. "It was your first attempt, and you still lack experience. I saw your fight with the DigiDestined . . . and . . ."

"You hate it, you are ashamed . . ." Catrina cut in sullenly, while staring at the metallic floor.

"Hmm? Ashamed? No, of course not!" said Chaos Specter, surprised. "What makes you think that way?"

"It figures. I failed. I lost the fight, and Asuramon is deleted."

"Not everyone is successful in their first attempt. Even I fail sometimes . . ."

"You . . .?" Catrina asked skeptically, eyes wide-opened. "That's not possible."

Chaos Specter laughed appreciatively. "As flattered as I am from that comment, yes I do fail sometimes. As for today, my experiments failed – causing the destruction of the Protocol Ruins and the deletion of Datamon, the one I have given the responsibility to foresee the experiment."

"Really? Can you tell me what happened?"

"Why don't you come over here to the throne, and I'll tell you what happened to me in details?"

Catrina eagerly leaped over the steps of the throne, and towards the topmost podium where Chaos Specter's throne and Catrina's own special velvety maroon cushion just beside the throne were located. She settled down quickly on her cushion, and Chaos Specter related the incidence happened to him today. He mentioned the events about his failed experiments, up till his success in recapturing Kimeramon and MetalGreymon.

"As you can see, even for a pioneer like me is prone to failure, unexpected as it may be. When it happen, there's no use moping around for our letdown, rather we should take action. If one way of solution doesn't work for us, perhaps we should tackle the problem from other angles," he ended.

The BlackGatomon simply nodded, while trying to digest the advice imparted to her.

"Anyway, what makes you choose to take along Asuramon in the first place?" asked Chaos Specter.

"Well, I've asked Chaos AI to scan the DigiDestined's digimon. One of them, the one I thought to be the most dangerous of all, is a virus type; a Wormmon, who is able to digivolve all the way into ultimate level with his human partner, forming a virus type Dinobeemon. So I thought, who can I use to beat Dinobeemon, and I thought a vaccine type ultimate digimon should be able to do the trick. It was Chaos AI who suggested Asuramon, although his power level had been lower than Dinobeemon. So I was thinking, with a little team up with me myself, maybe we can overpower Dinobeemon. I really don't expect that Sylphimon to appear as well. We've beaten Dinobeemon, and the other three digimon hanging around there as well. If she didn't interrupt I could win the fight. It's not fair!"

Chaos Specter nodded. "A well thought-out plan; with only an unexpected obstacle being the reason for it to fail. Good girl, you really did impress me with your plan, for a first-timer. However bear in mind that if it comes to power level, attributes don't really play much of a part. If two ultimate digimon, one of them a vaccine, while the other a virus, and both having equal or near-equal amount of power, the vaccine type will win the battle in most cases. However, should the virus be a stronger ultimate among the two, the tides will surely turn over to favor the virus instead. It's complicated, but you'll get it in due time. I think an example is apt . . . Chaos AI, launch battle footage happened in File Island, between Devimon and the seven DigiDestined, four years ago, up until the first appearance of Angemon."

"_Affirmative. Accessing footage database . . . battle footage found. Displaying now . . ."_

"Now look closely," said Chaos Specter, as the battle sequence between Devimon and the six champion digimon belonging to Tai and the others was played. Catrina watched with rapt attention, and noticed how Devimon single-handedly defeated all Champions – ranging from the fire type Greymon and Birdramon, the ice type Garurumon, water type Ikkakumon, thunder based Kabuterimon and nature type Togemon. It was until the appearance of the saintly Angemon that Devimon was finally defeated, but to the expense of the angel's life himself.

"So, what can you say about this?" asked Chaos Specter, breaking Catrina's concentration.

"Well, Devimon is an evil type of digimon, a dark type to be exact. He also seems to have a higher power level than the other champion digimon, except for the Angemon who has beaten him."

"True, but not quite, Catrina. Angemon is strong; more powerful than any average champion digimon . . . but still, his power level at the time hadn't exceeded Devimon's. Even with the combined power of the DigiDestined's Digivices and his own sacrifice, Devimon still wasn't completely beaten. It was only until recently that Devimon had truly been defeated, and ironically, to the same angel digimon. The advantages Angemon had against Devimon when they first battled were the fact that he is a holy type and a vaccine at the same time, which is strong against a dark type virus. However Devimon had already possessed the power close to an ultimate digimon when he first battled the DigiDestined. In comparison, he was _almost_ on par with Etemon and Myotismon; the other two villains the DigiDestined have met prior to their encounters with the Dark Masters. As the result – both of them were destroyed, but Angemon is able to be reconfigured while Devimon remained in a digital limbo, in a digital spirit-like form."

"So I shouldn't rely on attributes alone, but also to pay attention to the other abilities a digimon have when I want to battle it?"

"Precisely. You catch on pretty quick. Now let's see if you can analyze this one instead. This is a relatively easy one, I'm sure you will be able to figure it out." Chaos Specter then issued a command for Chaos AI to display a yet another battle footage from the database.

This time around, much to the dark feline's chagrin; it was the earlier battle she had with Sylphimon.

Catrina blushed, but forced herself to analyze the battle in the way Chaos Specter had taught her.

"I can't, and _will not_ say that I'm weak against the likes of _her_, but I have to admit her power level is definitely higher than me," she said sulkily. "My advantage over her is the fact that I'm a virus digimon. And it's really unfair because she can fly!"

Chaos Specter grinned. "Correct on all three accounts. Very good, Catrina. Now, let's see if you can solve this one. Chaos AI, launch the battle footage happening at Tyrannovalley three days ago, between Chaosdramon and a Sakuyamon residing there."

"_Affirmative. Displaying now . . ." _

As the footage played, Catrina took an easy guess and assumed that the virus type Chaosdramon would be the victor. But to her surprise, it was the data type Sakuyamon who won the fight. Quickly, Catrina recalled all the information she had gotten from the footage, and became deep in thought.

"It's alright if you can't figure this one out, Catrina," said Chaos Specter.

Suddenly, the feline's eyes lit up. She sat up straight and looked over him straight into his own emerald eyes.

"No, no, I think I got it. You've said that attributes won't matter much when one had higher power levels than the other, right? Certainly that's not the only reason to overcome the attributes factor. From what I can see . . . that priestess digimon had the advantage of being more agile than that big lump Chaosdramon. I don't think it has anything to do with power levels here, that priestess looks pretty weak compared to Chaosdramon. She's merely using up her advantages to the fullest extend, and also her attacks seem to be very special in dealing with Chaosdramon. The flower attacks, and the fox attacks, both seem to be unique in dealing with Chaosdramon. Also there's the fact that she can fly, which is very advantageous in the battle. In the meantime, Chaosdramon was the stronger one, with more firepower, but he could barely move around. He's not agile at all. To be frank, he is slow, for lack of a better word."

Chaos Specter was stunned to hear the lengthy explanation coming from the rather unassuming pet digimon of his.

"An excellent observation, Catrina; I couldn't have said it better myself," he complimented. "This Sakuyamon, while no match for Chaosdramon's power, is indeed a highly skilled fighter and a very experienced sorceress . . . I should know."

"Huh? You sound like you really know her, master," Catrina pointed out, puzzled.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I do . . . from long ago. But that's not important now; what I want to say now is that I'm impressed of how much you have grown. It's just not too long ago when I took you in, and now you're already able to fight on your own."

Catrina bowed her head slightly. "Thank you, master. But surely you don't mean that. You're the one who taught me. I still have a lot to learn."

"And you're a fast one at that," Chaos Specter continued. "Don't put yourself down. Truth be told, you catch on even quicker than the Chaos Generals when they were under my training a few years back. Chaos Piedmon is a fast learner too, I have to say, while Chaos Wargreymon was decent to say the least. Chaos Seadramon on the other hand was quite slow. It took him a while to grasp the theory, but when he did, all he could do was to gloat over the fact that he's supposedly stronger than Chaos Wargreymon. Mind you, they were all without the power I've given them back then, and were merely in their champion forms. Imagine his surprise when Chaos Wargreymon, then only a Greymon, defeated him without breaking a sweat."

Catrina laughed heartily upon hearing that. "I can't imagine. It must be hard for him to accept that."

"Yes. You're a much better learner, and soon maybe you will earn a spot as a general yourself."

This time, the response Chaos Specter received was in a form of a soft gasp coming from the BlackGatomon.

"Really, master? I . . . I'll train harder, I promise."

"Your physical prowess will improve in due time, if you continue with the trainings I have set for you," Chaos Specter continued, slightly amused by the eager tone coming from Catrina. "But now, you will need to be familiar with the basic strategy-making skills . . . a training of wits."

"I'll do my best, master. Do you really mean it when you said that I can be a Chaos General myself?"

Chaos Specter nodded. "Yes. You'll have your chance, but first you need to be able to reach your mega level. But until then, I will allow you to come up with ways to attack the DigiDestined. However for now, we will focus our attention to the Tree Top Village, where Chaos Piedmon is supposed to be."

* * *

Tree Top Village. It was a village built on top of massive, sturdy trees that grew on the north-east side of the East Sector. It was said that long ago, the village was first constructed on the grounds, inside the forest where the big trees grew. However, due to constant intrusions by unknowing land type digimon the elders of the village had decided to move the village up over the trees.

Years had passed, and the village enjoyed peace under the rule of the current elder: an armor level digimon called Kabukimon. Despite his feminine flowery features, Kabukimon identified himself as a male. His head was patterned in a shape of a flower with eight white petals. Long, red mane of hair cascaded down his back and front torso, which was garbed in a loose red garment, a shade lighter than his hair. His legs and hands were white, and the hands were also patterned to look like flowers.

In nature, Kabukimon was a just ruler with a profound love in nature. Albeit a slightly fiery demeanour, he had always believed in doing what was right. And his patience was now tested, upon the arrival of Chaos Piedmon and his lackeys towards the village nearly a week before.

Kabukimon had heard of several similar villages around the East Sector which had also targeted by Chaos Specter. Asuka City, Seiryuu City, Harmona Town, Marina Bay Village, Emeraldo City . . . but in four out of five cases, the famed DigiDestined had driven the Chaos Forces out of the towns.

Rumor had it that one of the digimon of the Chaos Forces – a high-ranking one, said to be a Chaos General, had turned against the side of evil and helped free Marina Bay Village from a crazed WaruSeadramon. While on Emeraldo City, a fierce battle had ensued between the DigiDestined and another Chaos General – Chaos Seadramon – and it was also said that even Chaos Specter himself had made an appearance to battle the DigiDestined. However one of the digimon partnered with a DigiDestined had gone berserk, forcing Chaos Specter in retreating. The DigiDestined and some of their digimon allies then banded together to drive Chaos Seadramon away.

With the humiliating defeats suffered by the other Chaos Forces, Kabukimon knew only too well of why Chaos Piedmon had taken extra precautions around Tree Top Village. A blockade had been formed by the Chaos Forces – an army of Vilemon, Nanimon and BomberNanimon had been placed around the grounds where the trees housing the village grew. The champion digimon were all led by an armor digimon who went by the name of Baronmon. Chaos Piedmon himself never left Tree Top Village, and took the liberty of inviting himself to stay over one of the largest huts on the village – which so happened to belong to Kabukimon himself.

As much as Kabukimon wanted to take on a one-on-one battle with Chaos Piedmon, he was constantly reminded of the fact that he wouldn't even be able to lay a dent on the powerful mega digimon. One digimon had tried just that, and had already suffered a near-fatal consequence.

The challenger was a mysterious ultimate level digimon, who had been residing in the village as well for as long as Kabukimon had taken charge. Kabukimon had never seen such digimon before. At first he was wary of the digimon, fearing that he would some day challenge Kabukimon's authority as leader. However to his relief, the digimon only wanted a place to stay, and had promised to help protect the village in return. It was a promise which nearly took his life away, if it wasn't for Kabukimon himself to stop the fight. It was because of that Kabukimon didn't even dare oppose Chaos Piedmon.

Besides, there was another matter which required his attention.

The blockade had cut down all of the Tree Top Village's sources for food. The digimon from the cities of the sector's west quadrant who usually delivered the village's monthly supplies of food had been turned away by the Chaos Forces, and the food materials which they had brought over were seized. The villagers were in danger of starvation and dehydration, surviving now only on fruits, nuts and berries which could be picked from the trees.

Knowing that he would need the DigiDestined to help, he had sent a Biyomon to relay the message to Asuka Lab. The Biyomon had returned with a reply, saying that three ultimate digimon were on their way to help, as the DigiDestined were still in need of recuperating after their last fight with Chaos Seadramon. Besides, the one who replied to Kabukimon's message – Gennai – informed him that the DigiDestined would come to help, but the three ultimate digimon would be sent first in order to assess the strength of the Chaos Forces.

As he was deep in thought, Kabukimon was interrupted by a commotion happening outside his temporary hut. A crowd of rookie digimon had gathered over the balcony outside the hut, all chatting among themselves excitedly.

Kabukimon stepped out and quickly heard sounds of explosions coming from the grounds.

"The promised assistance . . . finally, but what took them so long?" he grumbled, but couldn't help to feel glad as well.

* * *

After almost a day of surveillance, the trio sent by Gennai to Tree Top Village had decided to take down the Chaos Forces themselves by nightfall. All of them were champion digimon, with one peculiar armor level digimon leading the team.

Right now, all three digimon were safely hidden from any observing eye and ear within Piximon's invisible sphere bubble.

"This should be easy," said GrapLeomon, turning to face Piximon. "How many digimon are there exactly?"

Thanks to his ability to make himself invisible by use of an invisible sphere, Piximon had easily sneaked up on the resting Chaos Forces in close proximity earlier, and had made some analyzes and important mental notes to help them with the fight.

"Well, there are those gross Nanimon and their equally obnoxious cousins BomberNanimon, and those sneaky little creatures Vilemon. There are at least ten of them each. There's also an armor digimon called Baronmon present, and from the looks of it he seems to be the one in charge."

"And Chaos Piedmon?"

"He's nowhere in sight, but he could be up there on the village."

Jewelbeemon was puzzled. "What interest does Chaos Specter have on this village on trees? Should he not pay attention to the power of time he has been wanting for so long? The way he places a team of . . . blockade around here, it seems as if he really has his eye on here."

Piximon shrugged. "I don't know. There's nothing of value in here actually. But then again, this seems to be the last place which is still under his control."

"So, we attack now?" asked GrapLeomon impatiently.

"Should we not wait for the DigiDestined to come with us?" Jewelbeemon reminded. "I thought we are here to assess the strength of the Chaos Forces?"

"We are, but look at them! All of them are champion levels, and one armor level shouldn't be much of a threat either," said GrapLeomon loftily, in a manner befitting the Ogremon half residing within him. He waved his hands airily. "It's not like yesterday when we were in Emeraldo City – where they placed ultimate digimon there. Wonder what's going on; has that stupid human overlord gone soft this time?"

"Don't listen to Ogremon's reasoning," said GrapLeomon again, sounding quite different from before. This time it was obvious that it was the more rational Leomon who had taken charge of the fused body. "I don't believe we should act rashly. We should wait for the DigiDestined to come."

Jewelbeemon was confused once more. "Did I miss something here? You are the one who wish to attack. Yet now, you are against it."

"Don't worry about it," said Piximon. "It's just that GrapLeomon is actually formed from two digimon who couldn't be more different than each other. The noble Leomon; and the brash Ogremon. It's purely accidental and it's a long story which I don't think we have time to hear for now."

"Believe me, I wouldn't want to fuse with Ogremon for the rest of my life," said GrapLeomon regretfully.

"Bah! It's not like I'm liking it either!" Ogremon's voice cried out indignantly. "Especially when it's _your_ ultimate form we're taking on. It even has your stinking name plastered on it! Why can't it be _Grap-Ogremon_ or something, huh?"

"Live with it," GrapLeomon muttered, brushing the insult and complain off.

"Are they always like this?" Jewelbeemon inquired to Piximon. "I don't remember GrapLeomon being this talkative yesterday?"

The pink puff-ball merely grinned. "You don't know the half of it. You haven't even seen how they were like when they were in separate forms. As for being talkative, my guess it's just that once in a while, GrapLeomon just lets loose his control over his Ogremon half . . . mainly for his amusement. Leomon is the dominant half of GrapLeomon, so he usually has total control over the fused body. But Ogremon does want to have his opinions heard from time to time, so Leomon will usually allow him to do. If not, having Ogremon screaming into his mind will surely give him a headache."

"I guess it just proves that opposites do attract," replied Jewelbeemon thoughtfully, earning a smirk from Piximon and a scowl from GrapLeomon.

"I find that highly implausible," GrapLeomon retorted.

"Great, now you make _me_ agreeing with you, Leomon!" Ogremon's voice screeched. "Piximon! Are we going to attack those numbskulls or not?"

Piximon groaned. "I can't believe I'm agreeing to this, but see those stacks of boxes over there? My guess that someone had been here a while ago with the villagers' monthly supplies of food and drinks, but those items were seized by those obnoxious digimon." Piximon pointed with his staff towards the Chaos Forces, who were all currently resting, and some of them were eating the supplies. Empty boxes were seen scattered about, yet there were still quite a large number of boxes which still remained intact.

Jewelbeemon shook her head sympathetically. "The villagers must have been starving now. Perhaps you are right, we must do something."

"Yes," said GrapLeomon, observing the Chaos Forces. "I can say that they're not up to an unexpected fight this night."

"So what're you saying, lion-boy?" Ogremon's voice demanded.

"I can't believe I have to agree with you this time, Ogremon."

"It's a start. Glad you're beginning to see things _my_ way."

"Then it is settled," said Jewelbeemon with a sigh. "I do not like this, but I trust both of your judgments."

Piximon held out a small circular device which he was holding within the grasp of his small hands. "I'm sending a message to Gennai, saying that we're moving in for an attack. Hopefully he can send the angels, Doumon or the DigiDestined to help us. We're getting our hands full with just them; I'd hate to think if Chaos Piedmon decides to appear anytime soon."

By pressing a small button on the device, the message had been sent. "Alright now, I'm lowering the barrier. Let's do it. And GrapLeomon, do try to keep your Ogremon half at bay."

With a wave of his staff, Piximon removed the spherical barrier, making them able to be seen by the Chaos Forces, which were all surprised by the sudden intrusions. But the three ultimate digimon quickly attacked, not giving their enemies a chance to retaliate.

"Spike Buster!"

"Pit Bomb!"

"Lion Whirlwind Kick!"

* * *

A beep radiated from the computer Gennai was working on. The wise sage immediately recognized it as a signal relayed to him by the surveillance team he had sent earlier that day to observe the situation around Tree Top Village.

He frowned; Chaos Piedmon was there too. Why GrapLeomon and the others would deem it was safe to attack?

Unless they had seen a chance where they could actually make it? After all, Piximon was there to cover their backs. He could easily hide them.

Gennai shuddered at the thought. During the era of the Dark Masters, Piximon had done just that to ensure the DigiDestined's safety and ended up getting himself deleted by Piedmon.

And right now, it was Chaos Piedmon they were about to face.

Doumon was still in the gym, and was meditating. From the looks of her, Gennai knew that she wished not to be disturbed. It would take her a longer time to regain her mega form if she was whisked out to send for battle. The angels were peculiarly silent as well at the temple beneath the laboratory.

Ken and Yolei had just gotten off from a fight with a Bastemon and an Asuramon earlier that day. Gennai assumed that their date had been disrupted, but he had gotten no complaints from them about it. It also looked like they had managed to take care of it, by Yolei and Hawkmon's timely Transdigivolution into Sylphimon. Gennai decided to let them be for the night.

TK was still in France. It was bad enough he had to be called out from the vacation he was having with his mother to assist in fighting Chaos Seadramon and Chaos Specter himself. Gennai wouldn't want to call him again unless it was really necessary.

Cody and Armadillomon remained the only pair which hadn't acquired Transdigivolution yet. It was extremely dangerous for them to be sent to fight Chaos Piedmon. Besides, as far as Gennai had noticed, Cody seemed to be a little preoccupied with a tournament he was about to participate in.

All of this downed Gennai's choice to Davis and Kari. Davis was always eager to help out and Gennai couldn't help but to remember the times when Davis and Veemon actually chose to stick around Harmona Town to assist the rebuilding of the town after Chaosdramon's invasion. Gennai was sure that impulsive Davis wouldn't mind coming. And hopefully Kari wouldn't mind either.

With that in mind, Gennai typed a message to be sent to Davis and Kari's D-Terminals.

* * *

-

-

-

**Author's Notes:**

Sorry I took so long to come up with this chapter. Anyway, this chapter is without the usual battle scenes, which I'm reserving for the next one. Thanks to all of you who took the time to review.

-

-

**_Digi Fan_** – Yeah, I was hoping for it to be funny. Poor Hawkmon.

**_Jack the Ripper_** – A new reader! Welcome, and I'm happy that you're enjoying the story. As for your questions, in this story arc they will not be reaching mega forms, but there's a sequel where they WILL become mega, but with a slightly different twist from the way they Transdigivolve in this story. As for Chaos Specter and Catrina . . . boy that WILL be funny to see. A male and a female digimon . . . but no, they will not Transdigivolve. Chaos Specter is not a DigiDestined, you see. Besides, handling Yolei and Hawkmon was hard enough.

**_Quinton Notwen_** - Yeah, Silphymon did get a nasty lashing by LadyDevimon, but not exactly in a way Angewomon and LadyDevimon fought. I believe the dub has cut out the scene where Angewomon and LadyDevimon exchanged a few slaps before the arrival of WereGarurumon and Garudamon in the Daemon Corps arc. I don't know about dangerous; I think Season One's fight between those two is more violent compared to Season Two.

**_Captain deoxys_** – Another new reader! Welcome, welcome! Willis will make an appearance, but in the sequel of this story. I'm keeping the Diginizers of Destiny, Darkness, Miracles, Friendship, Reliability and Sincerity unoccupied for the time being. I'm excluding the movie where Willis makes an appearance, and will be giving him a brand new start. I think it's not much of a guess to determine which Diginizer he'll end up with, eh? Stay tuned.

**_J.D. Guy_** – Last time it was fast, now I bet you're thinking that this update is horridly slow, eh? Sorry about it . . . school and stuffs, the usual deal. I'm glad that you like the ending of the previous chapter. Yeah, Chaos Specter's big explanation is coming much, much later, but I've dropped a hint in this chapter too, if you didn't miss it.

**_Change of heart_** - Wow! One, two, three reviews from you. Thank you for reading and reviewing! Thanks for the correction, it's my mistake. How did that 'five years' get in there? It's supposed to be three years. Thanks for pointing that out, it must have been a slip of the fingers. Heh! The DigiDestined don't actually fight Milleniumon according to the canon story, I'm just using one of the Wonderswan games story to give Ryo a better introduction. In my opinion, the battle with Milleniumon should happen after they've fought Diaboromon (I like the spelling _Diablomon_ better though), as that's what stated in the game. And your last question about Black Wargreymon, no he's not going to return. But I think there will be mentions of him though in the future / sequel, I have to double-check with my notes.

**_Bluesv20_** – Yeah, Cody will be next, but not in a couple or more chapters to come. I'm preparing a special arc for him – just like Ken's arc. No comment about the ultimate form he and Armadillomon will be taking just yet, it would spoil the story.


	29. No Clowning Around

_**VENGEANCE**_

**_Chapter 28 – No Clowning Around_**

_**--------------------------------------------------------------------------**_

-

-

Who would have thought that discussing soccer's techniques and strategies could take almost half a day?

Well, that could happen if you put two avid soccer players in one same room, as twelve-year-old Kari Kamiya learnt that day.

It all began that day early in the morning, when Davis and Veemon popped into the Kamiya's residence. It was about nine in the morning, and Kari still had not woken up yet from sleep...given the intense battle she'd had the day before with Chaos Seadramon, and the fact that she had just come back from vacation. She was tired, sleepy, and sore all over, but despite that she could already picked up an intense conversation exchange between her brother and Davis.

Out of curiosity, she forced herself to get up, while being careful at the same time not to disturb her still asleep Digimon partner, Gatomon.

Glancing into the mirror on her way out, she frowned slightly upon the sight of her reflection.

It was nothing out of ordinary actually...disarraying hairs, droopy eyes and all that, but nobody from her circle of friends had seen her in this condition before, except for Yolei when she was there for a sleep-over. Especially, no boys had seen her in her 'fresh-out-of-bed' mode. Of course, her early adventure in the Digital World was an exception. However as she aged she learnt to groom herself, and had always made sure that she would always appear presentable in front of other company.

And now, one of her best friends was in her house.

There was absolutely _no way_ Kari was going to let him see her in this state.

Kari wondered whether Davis's crush on her was still there or not. The boy had been known for his affections towards her, and even grew jealous of TK, who happened to be one of her closest childhood friend. However, the aftermath of the battle with MaloMyotismon they had at the end of the previous year seemed to have a maturing effect for all the DigiDestined. Ever since that time, either the crush had dissipated or Davis was getting better at hiding it.

Well, Kari thought. If the crush was still there, it would definitely be gone when he saw her in this condition.

Chuckling lightly, she decided not to take that chance and grabbed her towel and a set of fresh clothes before making her way silently to the bathroom. Hopefully Davis would not notice her. She hated to think if he did.

Not a chance, though.

Her escape plan was ruined by a certain blue dragon Digimon, who was sitting on the couch of the living room. It wasn't him alone though... her father was there as well, leaning against the sofa just beside the Digimon while reading the newspaper. Over the kitchen, her mother was preparing breakfast.

Three pairs of eyes instantly diverted to Kari upon the sound of her bedroom door creaking.

"Good morning, Kari!" chirped Veemon exuberantly, while waving his right paw.

"Honey! You're already awake?" Her father, Susumu Kamiya, greeted.

Her mother, Yuuko, smiled upon the sight of her daughter. "I thought you're going to sleep in today? That's what Tai said to me last night. Oh, Davis and Veemon are here too, as you may have noticed, and they'll be joining us for breakfast. Why don't you get yourself cleaned up, wake Gatomon and then we'll have breakfast together?"

Kari sweatdropped, but managed to return the smile her mother gave her, and nodded before making her way to the bathroom.

She could still make it without being noticed by Davis...but then, Tai's bedroom door opened up.

Out came Davis, and he grinned upon looking at Kari. "Good morning!"

"AAAAAHHHHHH!" Kari shrieked, and ran with incredible speed to the bathroom. She didn't even reply to the greeting Davis had wished to her.

Sweatdropping, Davis turned to face Veemon. "Was it something I said, or something on my face?" he asked confusedly.

Twenty minutes later, Kari emerged from the bathroom, freshly dressed in her usual pink attire. She saw that almost everyone was already there, and her mother was pouring drinks into the cups while Tai was buttering the toasts. Davis and Veemon both looked eager on eating breakfast, and Kari had to smile on that. Her mother wasn't an expert in cooking, notoriously known for her desire to experiment on new recipes instead of the ones listed in the books and magazines, and the results were usually disastrous. But even she couldn't ruin the simple preparations of breakfast meals, which Kari noted, were scrambled eggs, fried sausages and nuggets, toasts, and fresh orange juices for drinks.

Despite the crowd, Kari noticed that somebody was still missing. It was her...

"Kari, dear, go and wake up Gatomon. I'm sure she doesn't want to miss breakfast. I know how she hates Miko's meal...so she'd better hurry up," said Yuuko Kamiya cheerfully. The Kamiyas all laughed upon a funny memory when Gatomon was curious of the wonders of cat-foods, until she had decided to sneak a taste on their house cat's food. She had vomited instantly; bringing true meaning to the phrase _curiosity kills the cat_.

"Especially with Davis and Veemon being here as well," added Tai jokingly. Both mentioned boy and Digimon blushed slightly upon the comment, but it didn't look like they had minded at all with it. Both of them did have big appetites, which was a well-known fact to many.

Kari giggled and went off to her room to wake Gatomon. A minute later, a smiling Kari and a grumpy Gatomon joined the table.

"Morning, Gatomon," said Veemon cheerfully.

Gatomon muttered back the greetings, obviously grumpy of having to be disturbed from her catnap. However upon the sight of food her face brightened, and soon she began asking of the reasons why Veemon was there early in the morning.

The rest of the day was spent by the three DigiDestined watching the early anime shows on the television, while the Kamiya parents went out for some groceries. Gatomon left Veemon all alone by resuming with her nap, presenting the rookie Digimon with no other choice but to sit and watch as the three DigiDestined watched the TV. Tai and Davis then left to continue discussing about soccer, and Kari decided to go out for some window shopping. Feeling sorry for the bored Veemon, Kari took out her Playstation and allowed the dragon to play with it.

When she got back about three hours later, to her amusement Veemon was snoring on the couch while Tai and Davis were the ones playing with the Playstation. They claimed that the game they were playing, a soccer game, was one way of application of the strategy they had discussed. Amused, Kari excused herself to her room and logged on to the internet to spend some free time around. She'd gotten e-mails from TK, telling about his vacation in France, with pictures included. Kari couldn't help but wonder about a certain pretty girl with curly blonde hair who seemed to accompany TK in almost every shots. In other group shots it included TK with a group of children whom Kari didn't know at all, but judging from various shots of Digimon which appeared once in a while from the pictures gave Kari the idea that TK had met up with the DigiDestined of France.

People in school often thought that Kari and TK as an item...an idea which amused the both of them greatly, as they were only best friends. Now, TK and this girl, whom TK introduced as Catherine, seemed to be a perfect match. Then she remembered who Catherine was...Tai had told her about the time when he and TK went to France to destroy the Control Spire there, during the world tour event. For a while, Tai was also smitten with the girl but shrugged it off...as Catherine was as old as Kari.

Besides, one day Tai had actually let it slip...that he had gotten over Sora, and decided to move on. That was after the world tour event. She did notice that Tai had been going out over the time after the defeat of MaloMyotismon, but as her brother made no inkling of telling her anything about it she decided not to be nosy and shrugged it off.

An email from Yolei sparked her interest...titled _'Kari...you're so NOT going to believe this!'_. Kari was met with a pleasant surprise when the email, while short, told Kari of what she had been waiting for to happen to her female best friend. Yolei and Ken...finally were dating! Their first date was set today, and at the Digital World to boot. Kari could not feel any happier, although she'd seen it coming for quite some time ago.

However, an italic sentence at the end of the email baffled her slightly. It looked like Yolei was keeping something else from Kari.

'_Actually there is something more I wanted to tell...and you're so NOT going to believe this, but I'm gonna save THAT for later, okay? It's definitely a shocker...' _

A wink smiley icon was placed at the end of the sentence, making Kari wonder what that was all about.

She then saw a P/S at the bottom part of the window and realized that Yolei wanted all the contents of the email to be a secret for the time being. Kari scoffed to herself, muttering 'of course' while wondering how long it would remain a secret. The signs were too obvious.

After checking out all other emails from her classmates, Kari switched off her computer and decided to take a nap as she could not do anything else. The TV was occupied, and her parents were not back yet. She was still tired from the intense battle with Chaos Seadramon, and from returning from her holiday prior to the battle. It didn't take long for Kari to start sleeping; she had dozed off a minute after her head touched the pillow.

A loud beeping noise was what woke her up...and to her surprise, she saw Davis and Tai leaning beside her bed.

"Kari...wakey, wakey, sleeping beauty," said Davis cheekily, and pointed to his Diginizer. "We've got trouble. Digital World trouble."

Kari heard a groan coming from her side, and saw Gatomon jumping out from the bed towards the study table. The feline Digimon picked up the Diginizer of Light and the D-Terminal, which were the source of the beeping noise, and brought them over to Kari.

"Can't a cat have a rest once in a while?" she mumbled, but didn't really sound like she meant it.

"Thanks, Gatomon. Davis...what happened?" Kari inquired.

Davis frowned as he took out his D-Terminal from the pockets of his brown cargo shorts. "There's a message in our D-Terminal from Gennai. We're needed to help GrapLeomon, Jewelbeemon and Piximon to free a village called Tree Top Village."

Kari checked on her D-Terminal as well, scrolling down over the message. "What about the others?" She paled slightly upon seeing what was printed on the LCD screen of the communication device. _So much of keeping Yolei and Ken's date a secret._

"Hey, what do you know...according to Gennai, Ken and Yolei were dating today, at the Digital World!" exclaimed Davis disbelievingly.

"Tell that to the world, why don't you?" Kari replied jokingly, and decided to feign ignorance. She continued reading the message. "It's said here that they have already faced an attack from two ultimate Digimon this day, and Yolei and Hawkmon have already achieved Transdigivolution..."

"...becoming a female Silphymon!" Davis continued. "Freaky! They won the battle though...and Gennai hates to disrupt more of their first date..."

"...and it's bad enough that TK had to be called upon yesterday, while on his vacation," Kari continued.

"And while at first Gennai doesn't want to disturb Cody from his kendo practices, he'd decided to try and send this message to Cody as well. Armadillomon was the one who had answered it, and told Gennai that while he's sure Cody would want to help, the kendo tournament is important to him," said Davis, and became thoughtful for a moment. He looked at Kari, and then towards the two Digimon, and back at Kari again until finally...

"Well...only if it gets really tough then we really need to summon Cody, Ken, Yolei and TK," he decided.

Veemon jumped exuberantly. "So it's up to US now!"

Gatomon rolled her eyes. "Oh, I'm _jumping_ of joy..."

Kari and Davis looked at each other, and both faces harbored a worried-looking frown. "Only...the two of us? And it's said that Chaos Piedmon might be there too. Chaos Seadramon was hard enough, it took ALL of us and a few extra help from the other Digimon, and still it wasn't enough to beat him." Davis mumbled, while Kari nodded worryingly.

"Ahem..."

The two younger DigiDestined saw that the sound of somebody clearing his throat had belonged to Tai. He stood there towering nearly a head high, with arms crossed over the blue soccer jersey he was wearing over a faded blue denim jeans. He was watching the two younger DigiDestined with a mild amused look on his face, reflected by the twinkling gleam from his brown eyes.

"Aren't you forgetting somebody?" he inquired.

"Uh...you?" Davis replied instantly. Tai nodded. "Oh...yeah! Agumon can still Warp Digivolve to Wargreymon! Oh man, we're gonna need you two!"

Tai looked extremely pleased with himself. "Last time I heard, Agumon is still at File Island after the whole Devimon fiasco."

"Let's get going now," said Davis spiritedly. "We can open a Digiport over to File Island to pick up Agumon."

Tai left the room quickly to get his Digivice while Kari and Davis made preparations to go to the Digital World. Kari scribbled a hasty message to her parents, saying that she and Tai were going out with Davis. It was just after dusk, and with Tai and the Digimon around it was safe enough for her parents not to worry. Tai then made sure to lock all the doors and windows of their apartment unit.

Davis raised his Diginizer and cried out, "Digiport Open! To File Island!"

* * *

As their adversaries were all champion level, it should not take GrapLeomon, Jewelbeemon and Piximon long to defeat their bigheaded opponents - Nanimon and BomberNanimon. The term was fitting, as both species of Nanimon had an overlarge head if compared with their limbs, which strangely enough, grew out from their heads as they had no body. Nanimon appeared to be organic, while BomberNanimon looked metallic, but both wore shades, gloves and boots. Overall, they resembled bombs with humanoid upper and lower limbs.

Both species were known to be invader Digimon, and were virus types. Hardly any Nanimon was known to be good, and the ones the three Ultimates were facing right now were no exceptions. Malicious gleams evident from their shades, which somehow transmitted the red gleams of their hidden eyes. However they were still at a disadvantage...Nanimon species were also known for their barks being worse than their bites. They were strong Digimon, but nothing more remarkable. It was why they were given a power upgrade, fitting them into serving Chaos Specter as his army.

Their less-significant allies were a group of Vilemon, viral critters of virus types as well. All the time they had stayed behind, leaving only the Nanimon and BomberNanimon to fight the three Ultimates.

In terms of power, the good Digimon were still far ahead. But, by teaming up together the Nanimon clan stood a better chance. There were twenty of them in total to fight off only three Digimon. Lacking qualities of the ultimate Digimon, they made up easily with their large quantities.

"They are not relenting!" Jewelbeemon said exasperatedly, as she swatted a Nanimon and BomberNanimon with her staff. "Ugh...get away from me you gross thing! Shot Claw!" She fired off several streams of laser through her claws to stun them.

"I find this kind of fun! It's not every time I get to practice my skills!" said Piximon cheerfully, as he evaded two Nanimon who were charging at him. As the result the Nanimon collided with each other, and slumped on the ground. The Digimon trainer then smacked his staff on the two fallen Nanimon, and bonked them into unconsciousness.

GrapLeomon was the more impatient one; he had enough of the three BomberNanimon who were trying to attack him altogether, and quickly spun around with rapid easiness. A whirlwind formed as a result of this manner, with bolts of lightning circling around it. It was a wonder how GrapLeomon kept himself from being dizzy, as he jumped over the air and kicked the BomberNanimon away with the sheer force of his foot combined with electricity power. The three BomberNanimon were electrocuted, and were put out of commission.

Seeing that they were not faring better against the Ultimates, the remaining Nanimon and BomberNanimon regrouped and devised a plan.

All of them held their hands on their backs, and something foul-smelling seemed to emanate from them in an instant.

The Ultimates were confused, as the odor became more and more unbearable and intolerable.

"Urgh! Smells like crap to me!" shouted GrapLeomon, while covering his nose with one paw. "And I mean it literally!"

"This is really sickening," Jewelbeemon muttered, and followed GrapLeomon's suit. "Oh...what a _disgusting_ smell!"

"Gross and just plain nasty, if you ask me," Piximon said silently, as his comments were just about the same.

Suddenly, the Nanimon and BomberNanimon threw what they were holding towards the three Ultimates. To their utmost glee, the Ultimates' confusion soon turned into cries of disgusts as rains of defecation remains showered all over them. Using this chance while the Ultimates were flustered all of them generated more filth on their hands and advanced on an attack.

"Poop Attack!"

"Free-throw Bomb!"

This time around, their poop attacks had another effect. As the Ultimates tried to swat away the poop from hitting them, the poops exploded upon contact. It was a shock to the three Digimon, and it was the opening their enemies were waiting for.

"Attack!" cried the BomberNanimon. "Explosive Old Man Punch!"

"Old Man Punch!" the Nanimon chorused, and all of them delivered heavy blows onto their three adversaries.

When it looked like the Ultimates were about to counter their attacks, some of them retreated backwards and fired off more poops to further flabbergast their enemies. It was a useful technique; despite the bizarreness of it took form.

The small Piximon was the first to stumble on the ground, being the first who was overwhelmed with the filths thrown to him. Being tiny had its disadvantage sometimes, as now, a fewer throws of poops were enough to change his pink fur into a sickening shade of brown.

Jewelbeemon was out of luck as well, as the filths overcame her. Her emerald armor paled upon being mixed with the poop, casting the armor with a dull brown-green hue. This distracted her, and proved to be her downfall as the punches laid by Nanimon and BomberNanimon soon were delivered all over. She stumbled onto the ground as well, close to where Piximon was.

"The puffball and that woman insect are no threat anymore! Focus our attacks on that lion now!" commanded one BomberNanimon.

This command was met with loud cheers from the Nanimon and BomberNanimon. They regrouped and began advancing on GrapLeomon.

GrapLeomon was angered with this course of action. His armor and hair were stained with poop, and he smelled like filth. Charging up his power, his body glowed yellow as he snarled maliciously with dual voices, "I will not be beaten by a bunch of weak, filthy, mere Champions! CYCLONE TURBINE!!"

The Cyclone Turbine worked exactly the same way as the Lion Whirlwind Kick, but the delivered effect was much more disastrous. Instead of a whirlwind which only encircling him, this time around the cyclone generated from GrapLeomon's spinning body spread out to all the nearby vicinity. Jewelbeemon and Piximon immediately rose slightly upwards, carefully avoiding the strong forces of GrapLeomon's winds. The powerful cyclone had blown off nearly all the remaining Nanimon and BomberNanimon, sending all of them sailing in haphazard directions. All of them eventually crashed over the trees and were knocked out into unconsciousness.

"Excellent, GrapLeomon!" complimented Piximon, while trying to swat some dried poop out from his wings. Jewelbeemon was also awed with GrapLeomon's power, but she merely nodded in appraisement.

The battle instantly reached a standstill, with the twenty invaders Digimon were out of commission in one blow. The Vilemon all were hesitating to attack, until their leader, all this while remained hidden, decided to make himself known to the Ultimates.

The lead Digimon was a strange looking one. A humanoid Digimon, he wore brown gloves and boots, and green robes under a flaming red cape, with a similar colored material donning around his neck. An intimidating looking mask with brown, gold and red being its main constitutions of color covered his face, and white hair flowed out from the mask in random directions.

This Digimon was Baronmon, the one leading the Chaos Forces in their mission here on Tree Top Village.

And he was absolutely miffed with the defeat of his army. Especially because they were winning in the first place, and would have emerge victorious if it wasn't for GrapLeomon to launch his powerful cyclone attack towards the Nanimon and BomberNanimon. The Vilemon, while still fresh, were obviously no match to the ultimate Digimon power.

He alone, would have to deal with GrapLeomon himself. Despite being an armor Digimon, Baronmon had lived long enough to gain enough battle experiences. He had been in fight with numerous champion Digimon before entering Chaos Specter's army, and was confident that his power had surpassed the normal limits of champion and armor Digimon. This would be his first time facing an Ultimate, but Baronmon was ready to test his skills.

"Meteor Dance!"

Baronmon launched himself into frenzied dance movements, spinning around while raising his hands up and down. GrapLeomon scoffed loudly upon seeing this act, deeming it quickly as silly...surely the armor Digimon couldn't hope to beat him with dancing?

Oh, how he was wrong on this.

GrapLeomon, along with Jewelbeemon and Piximon who were close by, suddenly found themselves showered by burning meteorites which suddenly dropped down above. It was sudden and purely unexpected, causing the three Ultimates to fluster and unable to attack anymore, with them being burnt by the fiery meteorites all over their body.

Piximon recognized the attack, and quickly informed his comrades on this. "It's Baronmon's Meteor Dance! It works the same way as a Birdramon's Meteor Wing, but with more devastating results. We have to avoid being hit...OWWWW!!"

The pink puffball jumped when one meteorite brushed against his tiny body, burning his feathers. He was knocked out unconscious.

Jewelbeemon and GrapLeomon found themselves standing back-to-back, sending off their attacks to ward off the meteorites. Explosions boomed all over the battlefield, and pieces of destroyed meteorites shot off in random directions. Some shot through the trees, burning holes through them. Some of the leaves caught on with the fire emanated from the meteorites, and were burnt instantly.

"This is bad..." Jewelbeemon gasped, and her eyes trailing the fires, which danced from a cluster of leaves to another.

The fire indeed was spreading at an alarming rate. Smokes began to prevail in the closed battlefield, as they could not find a way to escape from the thick canopies of leaves, and the community living above.

"At this rate, the whole forests housing the Tree Top Village would burn by midnight!" GrapLeomon noted frantically. "We have to stop Baronmon."

Baronmon was still relentless, summoning more meteorites to further harm the remaining two Ultimates. He didn't really care of the side effects his attack had caused, despite the fact that while attempting to destroy the two Ultimates he had vehemently assaulted his weaker comrades as well. Some of the Nanimon and BomberNanimon were blasted point-blank with the meteorites, and were deleted instantly. The other Nanimon clan saw what was happening and quickly retreated to the place where the Vilemon were hiding.

GrapLeomon and Jewelbeemon both were shocked of the cruelty displayed by Baronmon, who put aside everything else to ensure his victory, even his own fellow comrades. The two of them were getting drained of their powers after the prolonged fighting, their powers wasted just to counter the falling meteorites and the fight with the Nanimon clan earlier.

Deep in their hearts, both Digimon desperately hoped for any help to come. They couldn't stand much longer in this condition. With Piximon knocked out there was no way they could reach Gennai to ask for help. Piximon had fallen...it was only a matter of time before they did as well.

* * *

Young Cody Hida fixed his aim on the target dummy in front of him with an intense glare of his serious green eyes. He was standing face to face with the dummy, which his mother and grandfather had made for him. Made out of faded brown clothes stuffed with cotton wools, the dummy actually consisted of several stuffed cloths, mended together at the places which would be the joints. One big stuffed cloth, rather pillow-like, made up the main torso with other smaller ones forming the head, upper and lower limbs.

The dummy stood just a few inches taller than Cody's height, being suspended by a wooden pole. The blank face was humorously drawn with a mocking face, rather comically, with round big eyes and small pupils, and a mouth with the tongue sticking out. It was a product of Armadillomon's so called creativity. Although, Cody admitted silently, his Digimon partner did have talent.

While merely a simple drawing, Cody's mind worked on it in another angle. He imagined the face being his opponent's face...and was fueled with the drive to begin his practice.

"_TSUKI_!" he roared, and thrust his light green bamboo stick, his _shinai_, towards the puppet's throat, stopping just as the shinai was about to graze the barely visible throat of the puppet. It was a rule in kendo practice that only a thrust should be made towards an opponent's throat. Cody drew back his shinai, and took a deep breath before motioning for another attack.

"_MEN_!" This time around, it was a strike made towards the puppet's head. Cody made sure to stop as well, before the shinai actually hit the face, and wielded the shinai up with grace and bopped the puppet's head softly. But then, just to humor himself, he drew back the shinai and used it to prod the rounded nose of the poppet, which was made glaringly obvious due to its bright crimson color, also courtesy of his Digimon partner. This action earned a soft laugh coming from the dimly lit dojo, right at the corner.

"Way to go, Cody!"

It was Armadillomon, who loyally accompanied him with his daily practice inside his grandfather's dojo. The dojo was already closed for the day, and Cody had his grandfather's permission to use it at his disposal. The dojo was located at the ground floor of the apartment complex where Cody, Yolei and TK were staying, just behind the Inoue's Ai Mart.

"Thanks, Armadillomon!" Cody said with a wave.

TK had commented once, when he visited the dojo, that the puppet's face looked just like one Dark Master he had met when he was about Cody's age. Strangely, the Digimon who claimed himself as one of the Dark Master was called Puppetmon. Puppetmon had actually imprisoned TK inside his house of toys, but TK used his wits to escape. From what he'd heard, Puppetmon ended up being deleted by Matt's MetalGarurumon.

Chuckling, Cody noted mentally that this puppet wasn't going anywhere, before fixing his eyes on the puppet's hanging upper limbs.

"_KOTE_!" he cried, and thrust his shinai towards the puppet's wrists. The cushiony limbs of the poppet merely bounced back in return.

"_DO_!" Cody bellowed again, this time around hitting the torso of the dummy.

The young _kendoka_ then repeated all four steps of movements around the puppet, thrusting his shinai while exclaiming the appropriate cries with every move he made. This went on for another half an hour, and by the time he was finished, Cody was flushed with sweat while the puppet still remained hanging on the wooden pole with its forever present mocking face.

Cody then heard somebody clapping, and froze. It surely was not Armadillomon...the clapping sounded very much like it was made by human hands.

Turning around, he was greeted by a familiar bespectacled girl, who was grinning at him impishly. It was Yolei.

The boy relaxed instantly, as it wasn't strange for Yolei to drop by the dojo once in a while, even in unexpected times. The girl was family to him, an older sister he had never had. When both of them were younger, during the times when Cody had just started with kendo, Yolei was always with him to offer support. At least, until she got tired of watching Cody practice and decided not to come to the dojo anymore, but even then she kept herself up to date with Cody's achievement, and was among the first to support him to enter the kendo tournament when she got hold of the news. The very first ones were of course, his mother and grandfather, and Armadillomon.

"I didn't hear you come in," Cody noted as he strode towards the bench where Armadillomon was sitting.

Yolei, with Hawkmon at her side, joined the younger boy at the bench, still smiling.

"Well, with all those shouts and smacking the poor doll there, how can you?" she said jokingly, gesturing towards the hanging puppet.

Cody, albeit his serious expression, couldn't help himself from feeling amused. "It's the cries that come with the set of movements in kendo..."

"Yeah, yeah, I know that...you've explained it to me before," Yolei said cheerfully. "So, how's the training coming along?"

"Well, because it is only the tournament between children under twelve from all over Tokyo, grandpa says that I've learned enough already to qualify, and just need to practice the movements often," Cody replied. "There are only four days left...so I reckon I'd better training hard. I hope I can win this."

"Cody...you've been with this kendo stuff since you were what, six? You're the most skillful kendo practitioner that I know," Yolei said encouragingly.

"I think I'm probably the only kendoka you've ever seen," Cody pointed out.

Yolei blushed slightly, but remained with her cheerful demeanour. "Well that is so true, but you get my point."

"You seem happy," said Cody, noticing Yolei's cheerfulness from the start. "What's up?"

"Well...two things. Which do you want to hear first, the good news, or the BEST news?"

Cody rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "I'll take the best news first."

"Ok..." Yolei sighed dreamily before suddenly shifting into her hyper mood. "My FIRST DATE with KEN is a huge SUCCESS!!"

The young boy sweatdropped. "Oh...well, congratulations then. Good for you."

"Ken and Yolei sitting under the tree... K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the..." Armadillomon sang joyfully, but was immediately interrupted by Cody when Yolei began blushing furiously.

"Armadillomon!" he admonished.

"I can't help myself!" Armadillomon defended himself. "Well...it's true right? They like each other, and that's the song I heard from TV..."

"Just wait until you two hear the GOOD news...which is, in fact, BAD news for me," Hawkmon muttered grumpily.

"What's with him?" Armadillomon asked.

The blushes on Yolei's cheeks vanished instantly, replaced by a proud look. "The GOOD news is that...I and Hawkmon...can TRANSDIGIVOLVE... into Sylphimon! Finally! Note that it's _Sail-phi-mon_, not _Seal-phi-mon_, okay? Hawkmon's just mad that he gets to become a girl Digimon." Yolei proceeded by giving the full accounts of her date with Ken back at Digitamamon's Diner, while Cody listened to her intently.

"...And now, I've just got back from the playground. The date was wonderful, just like what I have in my dreams! My first time...and a memorable one too! Oh...I can't wait to tell my sisters and Kari about all these. Of course I won't tell Chizuru and Momoe about the Transdigivolution stuff, but they will need to hear about the date. Well, see you around, Cody, but I need to get back before my folks wonder of where I am right now. See you, kiddo!"

Cody waved Yolei goodbye as he pondered on the fact that the older girl had just said it all with only one breath. After Yolei and Hawkmon made their exit, Cody turned to face his partner. The armadillo caught the look at his eyes, and instantly knew of what his partner was thinking.

"So, I guess it's only us now," said Armadillomon, voicing out Cody's silent thoughts.

"Yeah," Cody admitted.

"Aw...don't feel so bad about it Cody," Armadillomon assured. "I'm sure we'll get to become an ultimate Digimon together soon. You know, I'm hoping to become a human-like Digimon too when we Transdigivolve. The others...Angewomon, MagnaAngemon, Paildramon, Dinobeemon and Sylphimon...all of them are very much like you guys. I sure want to become one too. It'll be so cool when it does. Not that I don't like Shakkoumon, but..."

Cody nodded understandingly. "I think I know what you mean, Armadillomon. But even if we couldn't achieve a human form for you, you'll still be my best friend, and nothing could change that. And personally, I don't mind Shakkoumon. He has great defense, which is just as important as offense. He could even block Black Wargreymon's attack when neither Paildramon nor Silphymon could...he's great in his own ways."

Armadillomon brightened up instantly. "Aw, Cody, you're the greatest!"

Cody smiled, having a recollection of what Armadillomon had in mind during the times when he was about to receive the Digi-Egg of Reliability. His partner had wanted a human like mode, and from the way Armadillomon had described it, it sounded like one of the bishounen characters Cody saw in most anime. Armadillomon had made it specific that he really admired how Patamon turned up when he advanced into his champion and ultimate level.

"Just so you know Cody..." Armadillomon began, drawing his attention partner instantly. "Gennai contacted your D-Terminal while you were practicing just now, says something about needing our help for this village."

"Hm?" Cody asked back, surprised at the slightest. "Gennai did? What did you tell him?"

"Well...I told him that you need to practice because the tournament is important to you."

Cody smiled; his partner really knew and understood him well. But his smile then turned into a frown, wondering about the message. However when he tried to check the message out, he found out that there was no message stored in his D-Terminal.

"I think I've accidentally hit the delete button too, sorry Cody," said Armadillomon apologetically.

The boy shrugged it off. "Well, my guess is that we better go upstairs and let me clean up and have dinner first. Then we'll check out the problem."

* * *

A blue column of light suddenly materialized right in the middle of the battlefield underneath Tree Top Village. The light was blinding, it caused Baronmon to withdraw his attack momentarily. Both GrapLeomon and Jewelbeemon slumped onto the ground, weakened and battered at the same time. They had spent nearly all of their energy to block the meteorites from Baronmon relentless assaults.

Jewelbeemon was knocked out into unconsciousness as well as she felt too weak to continue fighting. Her limp body slumped over GrapLeomon's legs.

"The DigiDestined..." GrapLeomon said weakly, before he passed out as well, his head slumped onto Jewelbeemon's motionless body.

Six figures stepped out from the column of light, revealing three humans and three Digimon – two Rookies and one Champion. They were shocked to see the current situation of the battlefield; mini craters were seen all over the grounds with some of them still bore traces of fire. A lot of Nanimon and BomberNanimon were seen scattered around the ground, all had lost consciousness. They were all injured, and some of them were already deleted prior to the DigiDestined's arrival.

"Oh man! This is really serious!" Davis commented, and his eyes fell onto Baronmon. "And I bet he's responsible for all these!"

Kari gasped suddenly, and darted towards where GrapLeomon, Jewelbeemon and Piximon were lying. Her nose twitched slightly upon smelling a horrid odor coming out from the three ultimate level Digimon, but she ignored it when she saw that the three of them were injured badly.

"Oh my...they're lucky to still be alive. Their wounds are serious!" Gatomon exclaimed.

"This is bad," said Kari passionately, and grabbed the nearest Digimon's hand. "GrapLeomon...can you hear me?"

No response came. Kari quickly opened a Digiport and held her Diginizer of Light towards the three Digimon. A column of pink light appeared instantly above the fallen Digimon, and transported them away in an instant. Their conditions were too severe, and Kari could only think of sending them back to Asuka Laboratory where they would get the necessary healing treatments.

Tai, with Agumon at his side, tensed upon setting sight on Baronmon. "I bet that ugly dolt over there is responsible for all these mess!"

Davis and Veemon joined at their predecessors' side. "Man, if he can do this kind of damage to three strong Ultimates, then we really need to go all out to beat this guy!" said Davis passionately.

"I'm with you guys," said Kari. "Let's do it. Diginizer, ENERGIZE!"

**:: Transdigivolution ::**

"**Gatomon, Digivolve to... Angewomon!"**

"**Veemon, Digivolve to... Paildramon!"**

Tai awed upon watching Kari and Davis merged with their Digimon partners to form Angewomon and Paildramon in columns of pink and blue radiances, only to be poked on his leg by his own partner. Looking down, he saw his dinosaur partner looking at him expectantly.

"I'm ready too, Tai," said Agumon, clearly happy to be with his partner again. "Just say the magic word!"

"Alright! Agumon, let's do it!" cried Tai, holding out his Digivice. "Warp Digivolve now!"

"**Agumon, Warp Digivolve to... Wargreymon!"**

Baronmon panicked as he saw the newcomers. "Vilemon...don't just hide, attack them!"

The Vilemon, ten of them, muttered their protests but were cut short with Baronmon's snarl. Quickly they leapt out from behind the trees where they were hiding and charged towards the three destined Digimon.

"Please...you must be kidding us!" Paildramon said, and held out his machineguns. "Let's get rid of these cretins! Desperado Blaster!"

"Heaven's Charm!" Angewomon joined in, firing out powerful pink lights towards the Vilemon.

The holy attack of Angewomon coupled with Paildramon's intense assault did just the trick, as all ten Vilemon were wiped out in just a mere blink of the eye. Angewomon wrinkled her nose, and rose up slightly from the ground where she stood.

"Let's fresh things up a bit," she said, and emitted purifying pink aura which nullified the foul smells that radiated all over the area.

"_That's better!"_ Gatomon commented.

Baronmon took a few steps back as Wargreymon advanced on him. He was a match to ultimate level Digimon, but was way out of a mega Digimon's league. He wouldn't be able to win the fight, unless...

"Meteor Dance!" he yelled out, planning to beat up his three new challengers with showers of meteorites.

The meteor shower came, and the one who was most threatened was Tai, as he didn't merge with his Digimon as Kari and Davis did. He was most vulnerable, and unlike their fallen friends, his life could be at stake!

And Baronmon saw his chance, and focused his attack on the teenager. He was the source of this Wargreymon's power; with him gone Baronmon wouldn't have to face the powerful mega, and the other two ultimate Digimon would suffer the same fate as the other three.

"No! TAI!" shouted Angewomon, as she rushed to Tai's defense. Floating in front of Tai, she cloaked her body with her heavenly wings and generated a pink shield to block out the meteors.

However, somebody else was also concerned with both Tai and Angewomon's safety. The larger Paildramon decided that his body alone could shield both Angewomon and Tai simultaneously. He knelt down, leaving his back exposed to the dangers of the meteors. He held both Tai and Angewomon close to his body and let the meteorites grazed his posterior side. He cried in pain as his draconic white wings were scorched with fire, and there were more coming.

"Davis, what are you doing?" Angewomon demanded.

"Just ensuring your safety and Tai's," Paildramon said, his voice sounded constrained as he received more blows from the meteorites.

Then, Paildramon's body began to shimmer with bright blue lights...and he devolved back into a semi-conscious Davis and Veemon. Both of them were heavily injured.

"Davis..." Angewomon said, her voice shaken. She then leapt forward and shielded Tai, Davis and Veemon with her pink lights. "Heaven's Charm!"

The pink lights successfully wiped out the incoming meteorites, but Baronmon was still persistent as he continued with his dance. When the meteorites returned, Angewomon was unprepared and was only able to erect a pink ward in front of her when the meteorites slammed onto her. The pink lights around her body left her and deleted the meteorites, and when the lights dissipated an unconscious Kari and Gatomon were found lying on the ground.

"NO! Kari!" Tai cried, quickly rushing to his sister's side. "Kari...are you alright? Say something..."

While Kari looked quite alright, Tai noticed that there were scorch marks all over her clothes. Burnt marks were evident on her legs and arms, while Gatomon's white fur were blackened in some parts. Both of them didn't response to Tai's pleas.

Wargreymon, all this time trying his best to counter Baronmon's attacks with his fireballs, only noticed that his friends were in danger when Paildramon first de-digivolved. And within seconds, Angewomon had fallen as well. It all happened too fast, and Wargreymon saw that Tai and the others were now unprotected and prone to fatal injuries just as soon as Baronmon's meteorites overwhelmed them.

"I teach you for messing with my friends!" Wargreymon growled, and formed a massive fireball while rushing towards Tai. "TERRA FORCE!!"

He threw the fireball towards the incoming meteorites, which were all deleted upon collision with the powerful Terra Force. Wargreymon's attack, shining as bright as a star and hot as a sun, zoomed towards Baronmon. The evil Digimon tried to summon more meteorites to counter-attack the fireball, but all his efforts were in vain. His howls of pain could be heard echoing all over the dark, deep forests as he exploded into data particles.

Wargreymon took a deep breath, but remained in mega level just in case somebody else decided to drop by to fight them.

"Are they alright? Tai...I'm sorry. I really didn't notice..." Wargreymon said regretfully.

"Kari...she's not responding to my voice," Tai choked out nervously. "Davis and Veemon are still...barely conscious...but...we need help."

"Tai...is Kari...alright?" Davis asked, sounding really weak. He attempted to raise his head, but the burning pain then shot up to all parts of his body, causing him to scream in pain.

"Davis, don't move a lot, you're hurt..." Tai instructed softly, placing Kari down from his lap and crawled towards Davis. "I'm gonna get some help. How do you work the Diginizers? Which button should I use to call on help?"

"Call on...TK...MagnaAngemon...heal Kari..." replied Davis weakly. "Press...third button..."

"Why, what in the Digital World you need to do that for?" came a melodramatically evil voice from above. "Stay, don't leave until the show is over, and I will personally make sure that all of you will have the time of your lives..." The sentence was followed with a fearsome chuckle.

Looking above, both Tai and Wargreymon saw the owner of the voice, and paled considerably.

They recognized that Digimon anywhere. The bizarre clothing, the sashes, the way the Digimon's swords were sheathed on his back, and more importantly, the black and white facemask the Digimon was wearing.

They have faced the same Digimon once, and had no doubt that this was the same species of Digimon. The different colorings were not an issue here.

They recognized a Piedmon anywhere, because he was once their most powerful archenemy. The leader of the Dark Masters, and the one who had nearly beaten Wargreymon for good if it wasn't for Matt and MetalGarurumon's timely arrival.

"Run...it's Chaos...Piedmon!" Davis gasped.

"Why, appreciation towards me will not get you nowhere, pathetic human," said Chaos Piedmon with a sneer as he descended down from above. "My, my, MY...what an awful job all of you have done here. My Chaos Forces...deleted, except for those dirty Nanimon and BomberNanimon, whom I will not mind if you take some time to delete them as well. Tsk, tsk... Baronmon's deletion is not in vain apparently, seeing as that pretty angel and that dashing dragon warrior have fallen, just like those who have retreated earlier..."

"Cut the ramblings, Piedmon. What do you want?" Wargreymon growled.

"Piedmon?" said Chaos Piedmon, with mock-horrified tone. "Why does everyone love to compare me with my goof of a cousin? First that giant joke Azulongmon, and now you? Oh well, I guess if you meant that Dark Master Piedmon, then all is forgiven. He was a strong Digimon, although nowhere in my league. Like seriously, only one dimension? I've been to many, like five, perhaps...and I don't get all almighty king and decide to rule the Digital World. Oh, now what to do with you...hmm, decisions, decisions..."

Tai silently pulled Davis and Veemon closer to Kari and Gatomon while Chaos Piedmon continued his ramblings.

"Ah! I get it! I'll make you..." Chaos Piedmon took out a white handkerchief and smiled sinisterly. "Do you know what this is, DigiDestined?"

"You're not going to turn all of us into key chains, Piedmon!" shouted Tai defiantly.

The smile instantly vanished from the clown's face. "Hmm? Damn that Piedmon...he has spoiled my entire act! But no matter..."

"You're not gonna get us, Piedmon..." Tai said, and pressed the third red button on the Diginizers of Courage and Light.

Instantly columns of blue and pink lights materialized around Davis, Kari and their partner Digimon. The four of them instantly vanished in four streaks of blue and pink lights, transported all the way back to Asuka Laboratory...leaving Tai and Wargreymon with Chaos Piedmon.

"Huh...what happened? Why am I still here?" Tai wondered in confusion. "I thought that it's going to transport ALL of us!"

"This isn't looking good..." Wargreymon said, looking flustered a bit.

"Trying to leave, eh? Well, I don't think so... " Chaos Piedmon said sweetly, obviously a deception. "Looks like your so-called friends have left you here. Peh, some friends they are. But let's not complain about it shall we? Now that you're STILL HERE, maybe I can still humor myself. But on second thought, I don't think so. I'll just change you into key chains and be done with the two of you. Better be safe than sorry. That will have to suffice for now, and later when your little friends come along to rescue you...that is, IF they decide to come, then I'll entertain them as well with the same kind of pleasure."

Chaos Piedmon then darted towards Tai and Wargreymon and threw his white handkerchief towards them. The hanky grew larger as it got nearer to the pair, and bolts of lightning erupted from the enlarged piece of cloth when it engulfed Tai and Wargreymon. Shouts from the duo were heard all over the forest, and when the cries subsided there were two shining key chains carved in shapes of the pair. Chaos Piedmon immediately pocketed his handkerchief and the two key chains and surveyed his surrounding.

"One...two...three..." he counted the remaining Nanimon and BomberNanimon. "Three Nanimon and two BomberNanimon left. Hmm...I wonder..."

Chaos Piedmon made a mental calculation within his mind before smirking in delight. He then called upon his power and transferred them to the unconscious champion Digimon. All five Nanimon clan members began to merge as one, forming a gigantic two-headed quadrupled centaur-like Digimon, with its humanly torso garbed in yellow shogun armor and red cape. The crimson head protruding from its bestial body resembled that of a skeletal dragon. The new Digimon's skin was black as obsidian, and the eyes were crimson. The Digimon was wielding sharp swords in his hand.

"When the other DigiDestined arrive, there will be somebody for them to play with," said Chaos Piedmon gleefully. "Enjoy your fun, Zanbamon!"

* * *

-

-

-

**Author's Note:**

What a chapter. I may have to increase the rating to PG-13 after this one...what do you say? Should I, or should I not? Anyway thanks for taking the time to review, I really appreciate it.

**_Dark Qiviut_** – Thanks for the review, and for going to follow this fic up till the end. As for your questions...let's see whether I can answer them without giving too much detail away, alright?

1) There will be no Frontier kids and the V-Tamers in this story or its planned sequel. As for the International DigiDestined and the Digimon Tamers...well, time will tell. Some of the International DigiDestined will take more active roles in the sequel, and there's plan to make the sequel a 02/Tamers cross-over. In this story...you'll see hints being dropped in previous and upcoming chapters, but I'll say no more lest it would spoil the story.

2) I really don't have any major preferences in couplings. But I will stick to the canon, so _Sorato_ and _Kenyako_ are definitely in. As for the others, I like both _Takari_ and _Daikari_, I have the ideas for _TK-Catherine_ and _Mimi-Michael_ couplings, and _Tai/? _There's a mention that Tai has started dating again in this chapter, but with whom, you'll have to wait and see. One hint: It's NOT a fan-made character.

3) The Harmonious Ones will appear from time to time in the plane in which they are imprisoned, but towards the end they'll show up physically. I'm still editing the finale of this story so everything else will be vague for a while. But there is a reason why Zhuqiaomon seems to hate humans so much, and it is not the same as in Digimon Tamers.

4) Umm...mind telling me what is the problem Ch.23 has? I will try to fix the errors, as some of the earlier chapters bound to have, but it'll be helpful if you're more specific. Thanks.

5) Challenge? Wow... 50,000 words, that is suitable for a stand-alone story, not a chapter because of its length. I think I'll pass.

**_Jack the ripper_** – Milleniumon will return; Kimeramon and MetalGreymon will play a huge part in this. Cody and Armadillomon will Transdigivolve very soon, very likely in two or three chapters to come. I'm still figuring this out.

**_Digi fan_** – Yeah, it's been a while. Schools and stuff... thanks for still being here.

**_Quinton Notwen_** – Do they? Wow...you've missed a lot! Hmm...did I really write Chaos Specter like that? He's supposed to _love_ Catrina. Not _that_ kind of love, mind you, but the usual care displayed by parents to child. And sorry about the pluralizations (is that even a word? Microsoft Word's dictionary seems not to agree with it).

**_J.D. Guy_** – Everyone's issues will be touched upon from time to time, and the Dark Ocean has a lot of involvement in Kari and Ken's part. And Yolei, to a certain degree, because she was there too but not affected by its darkness. Yeah, I really wanted to see Frontier but downloading the episodes from the mIRC digilegacy channel will involve a lot of money and time; I rather buy the VCDs this coming summer.


	30. More Clowning Around

_**VENGEANCE**_

**_Chapter 29 – More Clowning Around_**

-

-

Chaos Piedmon lounged silently back at what seemed to be a small tavern at the Tree Top Village, under the shadowy corner over the windows. An Apemon owned the place, and Chaos Piedmon was too engrossed with his capture to even bother the propitiator of the tavern. He just ordered a drink and told Apemon to leave him alone if the champion Digimon wanted to stay alive. The poor champion Digimon, out of fear of the Mega, quickly scurried out from his bar, not wanting to risk the wrath of the Chaos General.

The harlequin was admiring two keychains: that of a DigiDestined, and a Wargreymon.

A smile formed from his blood-red lips.

The fact that he didn't really like his former comrade Chaos Wargreymon seemed to bring a twisted sense of poetic justice, upon the capture of the Wargreymon. If he couldn't turn Chaos Wargreymon into a keychain (a secret wish he had harbored for quite a long time) then another Wargreymon would have to do for the time being.

Thinking slowly, he knew that he had now the upper hand to bring the DigiDestined to their downfall.

He had a DigiDestined and a Digimon on hostage. His enemies would do anything to get them back. This would prove beneficial for him and his master in a great way of sense. Chaos Specter would be glad to have one DigiDestined captured, although that did not seem to be his mission upon entering this dimension. However the Chaos General knew better than to question his master intention, and decided to let the matter rest. Besides, why would he care? The master had given him pretty much a free reign of what to do to the Digital World.

Taking a sip of his drink, which was a dark green liquid emitting faint smoke, Chaos Piedmon remembered the time when the Digimon he had sent to Harmona Town were thwarted by two DigiDestined. Paildramon and MagnaAngemon; those were the ones who had even chased the mega level Chaosdramon out of that peaceful town.

Smiling evilly, he decided that Paildramon and MagnaAngemon would be the next on his list. Oh what the heck. Now that victory was at the palm of his hand, why not just capture all of them at one go? That would rid everyone of their current problem.

"But where's the fun at that?" he laughed, and took another sip. "The show would be over so soon, when it has just started. Let them have some form of entertainment with Zanbamon first. When they are worn out, that's when I'll make my grand entrance, again, and sweep my little hanky on all of them at one go. If it doesn't work I still have something up my sleeves."

Laughing merrily, he finished the remainder of his drink in one fast gulp, and leaned against the chair contently.

* * *

Upon their arrival on Asuka Laboratory, Davis, Kari, and their partners were quickly attended by Gennai and HolyAngemon. Gennai ran a quick diagnosis on the four of them, while HolyAngemon used his healing powers to cure the gashes and wounds on their body, as well as rejuvenating them back to a perfect state of health. They soon found themselves able to stand and move freely, whilst immobilized just a few seconds before.

However, that didn't make any of them happy. Davis and Kari were extremely distraught of learning that Tai and Wargreymon were left behind.

"I don't get it," murmured Kari, wiping her eyes from some unshed tears. "They should have teleported with us. Why didn't they?"

Gennai, who was standing nearby the DigiDestined, lowered his head grimly upon the inquiry.

"It's the code I've programmed in the Diginizers. It is programmed only to enable the wielders of the Diginizers to open a Digiport or to teleport themselves around at will. While at it, they can bring along any company they choose to. However the same is not true in the other way round; a non-wielder can never use a Diginizer. That's the reason why when Tai activated the teleport function on your Diginizers, only you two and your partners were brought here, leaving him and Wargreymon there."

"So what should we do know?" Davis asked impatiently. "I say we go back there, fight that overrated bozo and free Tai."

"It's not that simple," Kari replied quietly. "We've fought a Piedmon before; the Dark Master's leader four years back. That time, he had turned everyone into keychains except for me, TK and Patamon. All seemed lost back then when Piedmon managed to throw all three of us out from the balcony of his castle, sending us into what would be our impending doom...if it weren't for MagnaAngemon's first arrival. He was a match for Piedmon, as well as the only one who had the power to revert the keychains back to Tai and the others."

Davis crossed his arms across his chest, his face set. "So, what you're saying now...is that we need to call back TK and Patamon to help us."

Kari nodded. "I really hate to disturb his vacation again...but I guess we don't have a choice. I really want to save Tai and Wargreymon."

"You and me both," replied Davis grimly, touching Kari's shoulder with one hand as a gesture of support.

Gennai and HolyAngemon exchanged a quick glance with each other, and the ultimate angel Digimon nodded slightly. He walked towards the two grieving DigiDestined, an idea came to his mind.

"Perhaps I can be of assistance for you," he said. "I am, after all, a MagnaAngemon as well...only with a different name."

Instantly, the expressions on Davis and Kari's face lifted considerably.

"Can you really turn Tai and Wargreymon back?" asked Kari hopefully.

HolyAngemon smiled assuringly. "There is nothing MagnaAngemon can do, that I can't. You need not call on your friends TK and Patamon, at least not for the time being. It was bad enough his vacation was disrupted a couple days back; let him enjoy a rest and I will take on his place."

"What about the other angels? Will they come to?" asked Veemon.

"Right now, they are currently in deep meditation...practicing for a new method which will be a great help to all of you in future battles. I don't recommend on calling them right now unless it is absolutely necessary," said HolyAngemon. "But more numbers will indeed be of help; I suggest calling on the other DigiDestined right away. Two of them have already attained the Transdigivolution ability, and will be able to assist us with our cause."

Davis and Kari nodded in understanding, and Davis quickly typed on an urgent message on his D-Terminal, to be sent to Ken, Yolei and Cody.

* * *

It was barely nine in the evening when the other DigiDestined (except for TK, who was still at France) received the message.

In his room, Ken was about ready to turn in for the day when immediately his D-Terminal signaled the arrival of a message. Quickly getting up from the bed, he took the device and read the message quickly. Seeing the urgency of the message was bearing, Ken decided to help out, despite still feeling a little sore from his fight with Asuramon and Bastemon earlier that day. Quickly changing from his pajamas into a pair of comfortable T-shirt and pants, he then briefed Wormmon about what they needed to do before opening a Digiport with his device.

At the same time, Yolei was watching the television with mild disinterest, with Hawkmon beside her on the sofa. Her sisters were out shopping, while her brother was helping out their parents watching over their family's convenience store. She was yawning, tired of all the day's work when she heard a faint beeping sound coming from her bedroom. Hawkmon, possessing sharp hearings, quickly flew towards Yolei's room to retrieve her D-Terminal and Diginizer. After reading the message, Yolei decided that it was time for Sylphimon to make a second appearance for the day...to Hawkmon's absolute dismay.

Deciding to get Cody as well, Yolei bolted out from her house towards the Hida's residence. She was glad to find Cody to be the one answering the door, and found out that Cody had gotten the message as well. However he had just finished cleaning himself up after practicing Kendo, and was about to have dinner with his mother and grandfather. As it was the family's tradition to have dinner together, Cody reluctantly told Yolei to go ahead, and he would come as soon as he could after having his dinner.

And several time zones away from the nighttime of Japan, TK was touring the city of Paris, appreciating the relaxing afternoon he was having.

* * *

Two columns of violet and red lights materialized on top of the circular podium inside Asuka Lab. Out came Ken, Wormmon, Yolei and Hawkmon...finding themselves facing a grim looking Kari and a worried Davis. Yolei explained Cody's reason of absence, while Davis told her of the reason why TK wasn't contacted when the violet-haired teen inquired of the missing blonde.

"HolyAngemon here will be taking TK and Patamon's place for today," said Davis, gesturing towards the holy Digimon who nodded upon the acknowledgment given to him. "I really would hate to ruin their vacation once more."

"Should we wait for Cody?" Ken asked.

Yolei shook her head. "Nah. He said to go ahead first. He'll be joining us as soon as he could."

Gatomon crept close to Hawkmon. "Hey Hawkmon, I heard that you and Yolei..."

Hawkmon suddenly paled and raised a wing quickly before Gatomon could finish with her question. "Please, Gatomon dear. Not a word for the time being. I'm still adapting to it... oh, the horror of it!" He shuddered slightly upon finishing the sentence. Gatomon merely shrugged and went back to Kari.

"We're ready to go?" Davis asked, scanning the crowd. He got affirmative nods from everyone. "Okay...here we go!"

Together, the DigiDestined, their partners and HolyAngemon stepped up onto the podium. Gennai entered the coordinates for the Tree Top Village and transported them there in columns of multicolored lights.

Upon arrival, they received a rather surprising welcoming from a non-familiar colossal black Digimon with gold and red armor – in the forms of multiple sword-slashings from the two swords it was brandishing. It was incredibly lucky for them that Gennai had transported them a few hundred meters away from the vicious Digimon, out of the swords' reach, or else they would've been dead. The Digimon saw their dazzling entrances and was not pleased. The centaurian Digimon then clapped his foot on the ground, preparing to charge towards the DigiDestined.

HolyAngemon immediately unleashed his own long, white sword and prepared to battle. "I'll hold him while you digivolve!" He then spread his white wings wide and jumped to fight the estranged Digimon.

"Alright guys, you know what to do!" Davis said.

"Yeah! Let's do it!" Yolei exclaimed excitedly, and assumed the pose before Davis could. "Diginizer, ENERGIZE!"

"Hey, that's _my_ line!"

-

**: TRANSDIGIVOLUTION :**

"Veemon Digivolve to... Paildramon!"

"Wormmon Digivolve to... Dinobeemon!"

"Hawkmon Digivolve to... Sylphimon!"

"Gatomon Digivolve to... Angewomon!"

-

Paildramon and Angewomon gasped in surprise upon seeing the new form of Sylphimon, whom they hadn't had the chance to see just yet.

Paildramon let out a wolf-whistle. "Hey, not bad looking Yolei...nice form, Hawkmon!"

Sylphimon frowned. "I'd thank you, but I don't think Hawkmon appreciates your comment...so zip it, Davis."

Paildramon sweatdropped. "It was a compliment, FYI. Sheesh..."

Angewomon groaned. "Cut it out, you two...HolyAngemon needs our help now."

"Let's run the stats for that Digimon. I don't think I've ever seen it before," Dinobeemon suggested.

-

**- DIGIMON ANALYZER -  
Name** : Zanbamon  
**Attribute** : Virus  
**Level** : Mega  
**Type** : Evil  
**Specialty** : Dark

**Attacks **: Prison Gate of Beheading, Cross Slash  
**Power Level** : 88

Zanbamon is one of the cruelest Digimon ever known to exist. He rides the plains with his electric horse and his huge swords to mark him.

**-**

-

**- DIGIMON ANALYZER -  
Name** : HolyAngemon  
**Attribute** : Vaccine  
**Level** : Ultimate  
**Type** : Archangel  
**Specialty** : Holy, Flying

**Attacks **: Heaven's Gate, Excalibur, Holy Antidote  
**Power Level** : 70

A priest form of MagnaAngemon, this archangel employs his mighty sword Excalibur to banish his enemy for eternity.

**-**

-

**- DIGIMON ANALYZER -  
Name** : Angewomon  
**Attribute** : Vaccine  
**Level** : Ultimate  
**Type** : Angel  
**Specialty** : Holy, Flying

**Attacks **: Celestial Arrow, Heaven's Charm, Heaven's Charge(1), Lightning Claw(2), Cat's Eye Hypnotism(2)  
**Power Level** : 75

This female angel Digimon descends down from the sky to wipe out evil with her lightning-charged arrow and holy powers. A Transdigivolved Angewomon can recall attacks from her previous digivolutionary form to complement her own array of attacks.

**-**

-

"_Finally, a completed analysis for us,"_ Gatomon said. _"And what do you know; our power's increased too from the last time!"_

"_Couldn't have done it without you,"_ Angewomon replied back.

The four ultimate Digimon then charged off towards their enemy, greatly aiding HolyAngemon who was beginning to tire out from the mega Digimon's forceful attacks. The archangel seemed to be unhurt, but for only a short duration of time he had already used a huge amount of energy to battle Zanbamon. However after a short rest he would be able to resume fighting once more.

Paildramon and Dinobeemon stepped up in front of Zanbamon and aimed their powerful kicks towards Zanbamon's torso...only to be met with a very loud clang when their legs touched the Mega's hard-as-diamond armor. The bigger Digimon didn't even stagger, and when the two Ultimates were flustered of what to do Zanbamon shoved both of them aside with a clean kick. All the while, the Mega didn't even utter out a single word save for the names of his techniques, but upon kicking Paildramon and Dinobeemon away he let out a brief snicker, which annoyed the two ultimate Digimon greatly.

"That does it! Desperado Blaster!"

"Irritant Buzz!"

The two attacks bounced harmlessly upon contact with Zanbamon's armor. The helmet he was wearing protected him from hearing Dinobeemon's irritatingly high pitched noise attack.

"Not good!" Dinobeemon exclaimed.

"Cross Slash!" cried Zanbamon, doing exactly what the attack name had dictated. He crossed both arms over the chest, both hands holding the swords, and charged the swords with his dark powers. Deep red X-shaped electricity bolted out from the swords as he uncrossed his arms, hitting both male Digimon squarely on their chests.

It was fortunate for Paildramon and Dinobeemon as they were wearing armor which managed to reduce the attack's effect slightly. However that didn't mean that it wasn't harmful – several chips of the green armor were peeled off after the smokes cleared out from the two Digimon. They felt a little pain on their chests and backed off a few steps, hands holding their chests.

"Celestial Arrow!"

"Top Gun!"

Angewomon and Sylphimon flew right from behind Paildramon and Dinobeemon, shooting off an arrow of light and a pink fireball straight towards Zanbamon's swords. They meant to make Zanbamon drop the swords, but the dark Digimon's grasp on his swords was firm. He slashed those swords forward and nullified the two attacks instantly.

Paildramon saw what they had meant to do, and got an idea.

"Cable Catcher!" he roared, shooting off his claws. The claws were connected to his armor by strong, durable cable which was nearly impossible to be cut off. Paildramon managed to tie the cabled claws around both swords, and tried to pull them off from Zanbamon's hands.

Zanbamon grunted in annoyance, and tried to shake off the cables which were tied around his swords. However Paildramon was undaunted and pulled harder...but his strength did not match the Mega's, and soon he found himself being pulled towards Zanbamon.

Paildramon's eyes narrowed as he saw a way out.

"Elemental Bolt!" he cried, and charged up his cables with bolts of fire, ice, electricity and poison. The bolts, which were colored red, blue, yellow and green respectively, coursed along the cables and the swords before seeping into Zanbamon's unprotected palms. The effect was amazing; Zanbamon actually bellowed loudly as he began to feel the effect of Paildramon's Elemental Bolt technique. His grasp on the swords began to falter, and Paildramon sent out more of his Elemental Bolt power to further force Zanbamon to surrender his swords.

Seeing that the only way to make the excruciating pain he was feeling stop, Zanbamon had no choice but to let go of his swords.

"He shoots, and he scores!" Paildramon cried jubilantly as both of Zanbamon's swords were pulled towards him. However, now that he got full leverage of the swords, he began to notice something else. The swords were...extremely heavy, not to mention very big as well. Paildramon was the largest of the five good Digimon, yet he stood no taller than three-quarter of Zanbamon's height. The swords were two-third of Zanbamon's own height, and when compared to Paildramon... they were nearly the same height as him.

Paildramon found himself being knocked off his foot as the swords rammed onto him. "Ooof!" He fell onto the ground on his back; the two swords were on top of him. He tried to get off, but the swords were too heavy for him to lift.

Dinobeemon and Sylphimon snickered slightly, after seeing that their friend was merely immobilized rather than harmed.

"A little help here?" Paildramon pleaded. "Oh man...these swords sure are HEAVY!"

Dinobeemon and Sylphimon together tried to move the swords away from Paildramon's body, but failed. Angewomon wanted to try to, but seeing her physically stronger friends failed to lift up those swords she was sure that she won't be able to lift them off as well by physical means. So she opted for another method.

"Heaven's Charm!"

This earned a gasp from Dinobeemon and Sylphimon, and a surprised cry from Paildramon. However the pink energy that Angewomon had released merely enveloped the swords instead of Paildramon...and destroyed them instantly into bits of data.

"That was rather impulsive," Dinobeemon noted.

"But it works," Sylphimon continued.

"Woah...Kari, for a while I thought you've lost your mind back there," Paildramon said weakly as he attempted to stand up. "You nearly gave me a heart attack...but thanks. I owe you one."

Angewomon smiled slightly and nodded, but her expression grew serious as she turned back to face Zanbamon. The mega Digimon was not pleased to see his swords destroyed, and roared angrily as he stampeded towards the four ultimate Digimon. Without his swords he could no longer attack, but he was still dangerous. Seeing how the Mega's eyes were glowing red, the DigiDestined knew there was only one way out.

"We're going to have to delete him," said Angewomon.

The others grimly agreed, but HolyAngemon approached them quickly and told them to stop.

"Don't waste your energy on this Mega...there is still Chaos Piedmon. Leave him to me."

The four DigiDestined agreed to HolyAngemon, and the ultimate archangel Digimon flew upwards. He held up his silvery-white sword up and instantly, the dark forest was brightened by holy white lights coming from HolyAngemon and his sword. His sword shone brilliantly as HolyAngemon flew over the air in circle to form a circular band of gold light...and instantly a gate similar to MagnaAngemon's Gate of Destiny appeared. The only difference is that while the Gate of Destiny was gold, HolyAngemon's gate was silvery-white.

"Heaven's Gate!" he summoned; and the gate opened revealing the cosmos, a dark multicolored backdrop decorated with yellow and white stars.

Zanbamon was pulled towards the mighty gate, and attempted to resist when his body glowed with black energy. The black energy was absorbed by the Heaven's Gate, and Zanbamon reverted back into two BomberNanimon and three Nanimon, all five were unconscious.

HolyAngemon waited until all the black aura was absorbed by the gate before closing it.

"That was amazing!" Paildramon cheered.

"Thank you..." HolyAngemon replied, but was cut off when a loud, theatrical voice interrupted him.

"Amazing indeed! But even a good show has to end, and I'll perform the closing act! Clown Trick!"

From above, the DigiDestined and HolyAngemon saw a massive white handkerchief looming down towards them. Immediately, Angewomon charged a Celestial Arrow and fired it towards the handkerchief. This was immediately followed by Paildramon and Dinobeemon, whom both called upon their Sting Strike and Spiking Strike attacks respectively. The three attacks successfully shredded the handkerchief into tiny bits of pieces.

An annoyed Chaos Piedmon descended from the trees, hovering just a few feet away from the DigiDestined.

"Oh well. I certainly didn't expect that...but some improvising would do the trick. Clown Trick!"

All of a sudden, hordes of multicolored balloons showered down from the thick canopies of the trees. Chaos Piedmon jumped onto the nearest branch and sat there with an amused look. "Let's see how you will react on my amazing balloons! Don't destroy them, though. I've spent quite some time to develop this technique."

The DigiDestined and HolyAngemon instantly charged up their weapons to protect themselves from the incoming balloons.

Paildramon held up his guns high towards the balloons. "Let's pop those balloons! Desperado Blaster!"

Chaos Piedmon's smirked upon seeing Paildramon's reaction. "Don't say I didn't warn you...because I did. You're the one who's not willing to listen."

A volley of bullet projectiles shot up towards the balloons, causing each and every one of them to burst. However, the effect it generated was not what the DigiDestined had in mind.

Instead of releasing the air within them, the balloons burst with a loud pop and a flash of blue light. This caused everyone to close their eyes and cover them with their hands as the light was blinding. To their confusion, they could hear Chaos Piedmon laughing madly. Curious, they lowered their hands and opened their eyes again...only to find that they were now trapped!

Around all five of them was a massive transparent bubble which contained them.

Paildramon immediately tried to pierce the bubble with his Sting Strike technique, but failed as the bubble bounced his blades back.

Dinobeemon fired rains of his Moon Shooter needles, only to find those needles deflected back towards all of them. Angewomon fired a controlled measure of her Heaven's Charm to delete the needles from harming each and every one of them.

After two failed attempts, all of them knew that they had fallen to a trap. A trap, which Chaos Piedmon had blatantly lured them into by egging them to attack his balloons. Ironically though, the Chaos General did warn them not to destroy the balloons. They then tried to teleport out, but were hauled back into the bubble upon ramming against the wall. Their attempt to open a Digiport was unsuccessful as well. They were trapped, in all sense of word.

Satisfied, Chaos Piedmon then took out the keychains of Tai and Wargreymon and tossed them into the bubble. Surprisingly, the keychains did enter the walls of the bubble. After entering, the keychains glowed and reverted into Tai and Wargreymon, both falling on one end of the interior side of the bubble harmlessly. Wargreymon then devolved back into Agumon, and each Transdigivolved Digimon regressed back into their composite selves.

The Chaos General then smiled sinisterly and pointed his index finger towards Davis. "Well DigiDestined...it's too bad that your leader here have ignored my advice. You should've listened to me and leave the balloons alone. You'll know better next time...except there WON'T BE a next time!"

"Our friends will rescue us, Chaos Piedmon!" Davis growled back.

The clown shrugged, smile still intact. "I'm counting on that."

Turning his attention towards the unconscious Nanimon clan, Chaos Piedmon decided that they were still of use to him as they were alive. Granting them power from his own, the five Nanimon and BomberNanimon merged again to become Zanbamon, swords equipped once more.

"I'm counting on that... Zanbamon, you'll wait here to greet them."

* * *

Cody had finished eating his dinner, and offered to take the empty dishes towards the kitchen sink. His mother collected the empty dishes, emptying some of the leftovers in one bowl and stacked the plates and rice bowls for Cody to bring to the kitchen. Being the responsible boy he was, not only Cody took the dishes to the sink, rinsed them with warm water before loading them inside the dishwasher.

Returning to the table, he saw Armadillomon eating the leftovers. Cody's mother, Minako, was more than glad of this; this way she wouldn't have to throw the leftovers as she hated to waste the food, and was not fond of reheating them back. Armadillomon was more or less, an answer to her problem. It was the reason why she was so fond of having Armadillomon in the house.

"Armadillomon...we got to go," Cody chided his partner gently.

"Aw Cody... just a little bit more."

Minako Hida smiled. "I'll put it in the microwave and let you eat it when you got home."

"In that case, ok," Armadillomon replied.

Glancing at the clock, Minako saw that it was close to ten in the evening. Normally, any parent wouldn't let their child wander off in the night, especially one as young as Cody. However, she trusted both her son and Armadillomon, knowing that Cody knew how to protect himself and Armadillomon would do anything to prevent harm from coming to the child.

"Is it just a normal outing for the DigiDestined at the Digital World?" Chikara Hida, Cody's grandfather inquired.

If Cody told his grandfather and mother that a trouble was brewing at the Digital World nowadays, it would get them to worry. He hated to lie to both of them, so he thought of for a possible explanation. An explanation which would be beneficial for both Cody and his family would be best. Saying that a powerful Digimon had his friends turned into keychains definitely was out. He needed to do it with tact.

It was just his luck when he heard knocking at the front door.

"I'll get it," he offered, and darted towards the door. Opening it, he got a surprise.

Outside were two familiar teenagers; a lanky blue-haired bespectacled teen in white shirt and blue pants, and a shorter brown-haired teen wearing green sweatshirt and brown pants, holding a laptop at his side.

They were Joe Kido and Izzy Izumi.

* * *

-

-

**Author's Note:**

Sorry for the delay. I wanted to update this story earlier, but was dissatisfied with what I have written, so I end up erasing it and typed them back all over again. Besides, I'm also working on my other fic. However I am glad to see the reviews. Probably the most reviews I ever have for one chapter...more than 10 if I am not mistaken. Some are multiple reviews from the same reviewer, but I'm glad nonetheless. Thanks everyone, and keep them coming.

(1) _Heaven's Charge_ is equal to the name 'Halo of Light' which I came up with when writing the name for one of Angewomon's attack. It was dubbed as Heaven's Charm, but the name is also true for the one Angewomon used against LadyDevimon and Airdramon in the series, so I changed it. I change it again because I decided that I don't really like the name 'Halo of Light'.

(2) These are Gatomon's attacks, complimenting Angewomon's own attacks. I've also done an analyzer for Angewomon because her profile was done before the Digimon Analyzer was 'updated'. :)

Something is really wrong with the FF(dot)net editing features...it messes up the structure for the Digimon Analyzer. Notice that the chapter title doesn't have that line like the other previous chapters. Darn.

Anyway, onto the reviews!

**_Dark Qiviut_** – I never realized that Chapter 23 is like that, because it works just fine when I view it with my browser (IE5). There are no super-paragraphs like you have mentioned, but I'll try to fix the problem by re-uploading the chapter. Hopefully it'll work fine. No apologies needed, Dark Qiviut. I am glad to hear that, because I might never know that that chapter is glitched.

**_DTV_** – Am I glad to hear back from you. As for Tai and Wargreymon being able to communicate with each other, I don't know that for sure as there's no evidence from the series that they are able to do that. As for your second question, I think you might find the answer at the last sentence of this chapter. About Gabumon's ability to warp digivolve...I'm not sure what did you mean by this. Sorry. As for Wizardmon, I purposely leave this hanging, it will be revealed after the Cody's arc is finished. According to this story's plan, they'll have some sorts of cameo. As for now, you can see their partners appearing from time to time. Thanks for the list of Digimon appearing in the end of 02...it will definitely be a huge help for me to write the planned sequel. I notice the difficulty of having Willis, Henry and Suzie in the same story too due to their partners, but I'll work on that. For Frontier, I do know the basic storyline and the main characters, but don't know about the various Digimon that appear in them (save for the other Spirits, the Celestial Digimon, and Bokomon Neemon). The Digimon Encyclopedia website is really a huge help for me when making research. I don't know yet whether I will be writing Frontier stories and some other anime, my current priority is to finish this story and Legends of DD first.

**_Digi Fan_** – Eventually they will, so stay tuned.

**_Gerjomarty_** – You're back too! And thanks for the reviews. I'm glad that you're enjoying the story, and for the feedback you've given me for each and every chapter. I really love reading your in-depth comments for each chapter.

**_Jack the ripper_** – Wow...lots of question there. Okay, let's see. Eventually they will reach Mega, but probably not in this story. Chaos Wargreymon's origin will be revealed towards the end of the story. I'll exploit all kinds of possibilities for his origin, maybe you've already known about it, but it will be answered eventually, just not now. As for the Dark Spore kids, I am not sure yet. I can only recall that only Hiroshi, Takeshi, Keiko and Noriko are referred by names in the series. Takeshi will be making his appearance much later. My other story is called _Legends of the DigiDestined_.

**_Quinton Notwen_** – I agree with you about Season Three being darker, I kinda like it that way. All the problems with the Devas, the D-Reaper, Zhuqiaomon hating the humans, Hypnos trying to destroy Digimon in the first half of the season... it makes Tamers different from Adventures and 02.


	31. No More Clowning Around

_**VENGEANCE**_

**_Chapter 30 – No More Clowning Around_**

/-/

/-/

Kabukimon was currently at the village's infirmary, seizing the chance of Chaos Piedmon's temporary absence to speak with a Digimon who was currently being held there for observation. The said Digimon was the one who had challenged Chaos Piedmon earlier, and was severely beaten by the Chaos General if it were not for Kabukimon's intervention. Kabukimon had seen to it that the Digimon's wounds were attended to.

The resident healer, an aged Sorcerymon, walked over to the sofa where Kabukimon was seating. Upon seeing the healer, Kabukimon raised from his seat immediately out of respect for his senior, who had served the villagers even longer than Kabukimon had become leader. The healer had profound knowledge on treating almost any kind of injuries, and possessed limited healing ability himself to aid him in his task.

"How is he doing for now, doctor?"

The Sorcerymon's icy blue eyes stared piercingly into Kabukimon's own, as if analyzing Kabukimon's thoughts before answering his question. Then he coughed before coming out with a reply. "Kyukimon's condition is stable, Kabukimon. Some of the superficial wounds are already recovering, but the deep wounds however are not as easy to heal. I have used my powers to aid the healing process, but it would take time before the deep wounds will undergo complete recovery. I advise for him to stay here for a few more days, where it would be easy for me to treat him and assess his condition. I would prefer if my patient remains undisturbed until he is fully recovered...but if you want to see him now, you may do so. He is currently at the infirmary's chamber number three, second floor, the third door on your right."

Kabukimon was stunned. The healer seemed to have read his thoughts as well, judging from his reply which answered all the questions lingering in his mind. The wizardly healer then left him to his own device to attend to other patrons of the sickbay.

Kabukimon then followed Sorcerymon's direction and found the chamber easily enough. The door was left open and he could see Kyukimon lying on top of the bed. He was alone, and seemed to be awake.

For a while, Kabukimon thought of the mysterious Digimon who he was visiting. Kyukimon had come to the village several years back, during his early years as leader of the Tree Top Village. The Digimon was an Ultimate, and his power surpassed Kabukimon's armor-level power. At first Kabukimon was wary of Kyukimon, fearing that the latter would seize advantage of his power to topple him from his position, but Kyukimon did no such thing. Kyukimon had only wanted a place to stay, and in return he would offer his assistance to the villagers and would protect the village from any danger.

Kabukimon had the right to be wary – Kyukimon did look strangely intimidating. He resembled a biped fox with light red fur which were so fine it seemed like skin upon rough inspection. The fur had several red markings patterned on his arms and thighs. White fur lined his frontal torso from his neck down until the lower part of his abdomen. Long blue hair jutted out from his head, and even longer hair of the same color formed his curved tail. On his forehead was engrafted a dark blue symbol of four-pointed star, and over each side of the jaw bronze hook protruded out. However his most curious features were his hands – below the forearms there were no fingers. Instead, metallic blades nearly as half in size of Kyukimon himself grew out in substitute of his missing hands.

When the Chaos Forces arrived, Kyukimon kept his promise and confronted Chaos Piedmon...only to be beaten by the stronger Chaos General. Had Kabukimon not intervene of the battle between Kyukimon and Chaos Piedmon, the ultimate level Digimon would be deleted.

Knocking the door, he attracted Kyukimon's attention. "Greetings, Kyukimon."

Kyukimon started slightly on his bed, not anticipating that he had visitors. Raising both his bladed arms, he eyed Kabukimon testily with his intelligent brown eyes, before relaxing his guard. "Leader," he acknowledged simply. His voice had a cool tone in it, making him still an intimidating Digimon, despite the bandages applied on various parts of his body.

"How are you feeling?" Kabukimon asked, entering the room. He sat at the chair near the bed where Kyukimon was.

Kyukimon groaned. "I've seen better days. How is the village holding up?"

"The village certainly has seen better days as well. There have been some battles going on at the grounds. I believe they are the assistance we have been waiting for. Gennai must have sent the DigiDestined to assist us. Right now, Chaos Piedmon is down there with the blockade team of his, fighting against the DigiDestined."

Kyukimon pondered upon this for a while before replying. "The DigiDestined? You mean the ones who have stood up against MaloMyotismon?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Oh...it's nothing. It's just that...I've heard a lot of their exploits in saving our world."

Kabukimon thought that he could heard some tone of hesitation and disappointment in Kyukimon's voice. "Wonderful group of children, are they not? How come you do not look so excited about this?"

Kyukimon shot Kabukimon a glare. "Just what did you mean by that?"

"I did not mean anything. I am merely curious...you looked like you are not happy when I mentioned the DigiDestined."

"I have my reasons, but it's nothing against those children. If anything, I really wanted to meet the DigiDestined."

Kabukimon smiled. "From what I have heard, there are a large number of them scattered all over planet Earth, which is the home world of the DigiDestined. If you want to be partnered with one, then all you have to do is to have hope, and look for one."

Kyukimon gave Kabukimon a wry smile. "I'll keep that in mind. But enough of that for now...I believe to have a simple conversation is not what you're having in mind now, right?"

The flower man nodded. "I came to see your condition. You have taken some heavy beatings from that mad clown two days ago when you stood up against him. I admire your courage, but I am curious as well...what makes you do that for us? What is in it for you? I know you have promised to be of assistance if I let you stay here in this village, but you do not have to risk your life."

"You certainly are a curious one, aren't you?" Kyukimon said, amused. "Look, I've promised to help protect this village, haven't I? Trust me, there's nothing to it. I'm a warrior, and I've taken more heavy blows than this before. I could never be in my ultimate form this day if it weren't for my practice and hard training. Besides, what didn't kill you will only make you stronger."

Kabukimon chuckled. "That is a weird phrase, if you ask me."

Kyukimon nodded. "I thought so to, when I first heard of it. But now, it has been my motto. A dear friend of mine has mentioned it once to me a long time ago. I've been living up with the saying once he and I parted ways."

This roused Kabukimon's curiosity even more. But before he could ask Kyukimon about it, somebody knocked on the door. Both Digimon turned their attentions to the door and saw one of the nurse-Floramon there.

"Pardon me for interrupting, leader...but there are three humans and six Digimon at the waiting hall wanting to see you."

"Humans?" Kabukimon repeated, dumbfounded. "Are they the DigiDestined?"

The nurse nodded. "I believe so. They told me that they need to see the leader, and were told that you are here."

"I thought the DigiDestined are currently on the grounds? Very well. Go and tell them that I will meet them now."

The Floramon left and Kabukimon rose from his seat. "Rest well, Kyukimon. I need to see these visitors."

"Wait. I'll go with you." Kyukimon attempted to raise himself from the bed, but was stopped instantly by Kabukimon.

"No. You will need your rest. Your wounds are not fully healed yet. It would be best if you..."

"I don't care. This is important!" Kyukimon cut in. "And these wounds are nothing. I...arrggh!" He growled, immediately pressing his abdomen with his arms as he slumped back on the bed. Kabukimon jumped back slightly to avoid Kyukimon's bladed forearms as they swung across him; the tip nearly grazed his face. Kyukimon looked like he was in deep pain, which worried Kabukimon.

"Kyukimon? Are you alright?"

Somebody walked in from the door, and Kabukimon saw Sorcerymon suddenly appearing on his side. Silently the healer raised his white staff and emitted out blue lights which shone against Kyukimon's body. While the fox-like Digimon seemed to be calming down, Kabukimon was still worried and hesitated whether to meet his guests or stay with Sorcerymon and Kyukimon.

"That is an unwise choice of action, Kyukimon. I have told you that the deeper wounds are still not fully healed yet." Sorcerymon said placidly before turning to meet Kabukimon's face. "And as for you, Kabukimon, there are nine guests at the waiting hall wanting to meet you. From what I know, it is rather an emergency, and I sincerely believe that it would be best to not keep those DigiDestined waiting."

Kabukimon nodded and left the room, heading towards the waiting hall quickly. Upon arriving he saw three humans in the company of three rookie-level Digimon whom he recognized as an Armadillomon, a Tentomon, and a Gomamon. Behind the divan where the DigiDestined and the rookie Digimon sat were three impressive-looking angel Digimon. The three humans eyed him curiously before the youngest of the trio rose from his seat.

"The leader, I presume?" the brown-haired boy asked. Kabukimon was impressed upon hearing the way the young boy speak.

"Yes. I am Kabukimon, leader of the Tree Top Village. I believe you three are the DigiDestined?"

"We are." Cody then introduced himself, Izzy and Joe, and their partners. The older boys promptly rose from their seats upon Kabukimon's introduction and shook hands with the flowery leader. The three angels – Angemon, Piddomon and d'Arcmon – merely nodded their heads slightly as a sign of respect, while the three Rookies only observed Kabukimon from the divan, waving their hand/leg/flipper cheerfully. Kabukimon nodded in acknowledgment and motioned for all of them to take a seat. He himself took a seat on a single sofa, opposite the three-seat divan on which the DigiDestined were sitting on. The angels chose to remain standing.

"Is everything alright? The fight on the grounds, I mean." Kabukimon began.

Cody shook his head. "We didn't take part in the battle down there. We would've, but Gennai said that it would be better if we came here to meet you first. Our friends have fallen under Chaos Piedmon's trick, and are currently trapped inside an impenetrable bubble."

Kabukimon was surprised to hear this, but kept silence and nodded for Cody to continue.

"We are hoping that you can help us," Izzy continued instead. "Chaos Piedmon is a Mega, and from what we've seen at Asuka Lab, the Digimon that was currently waiting for us is a mega-level Digimon as well. Our partners can only digivolve into champion level for the time being, and can easily be outmatched by either Chaos Piedmon or Zanbamon alone."

"That is why we've decided to come with you," d'Arcmon said before glancing to her left. "Brother Piddomon, would you like to explain about it?"

"Certainly, sister," Piddomon replied. "Recently, just after the fight we had with Chaos Seadramon, we knew that we need to have more firepower in order to rise up to the challenge posed by those strong Digimon under Chaos Specter's command. However, digivolving to levels higher than Champion proved to be difficult and very time consuming."

"The newer DigiDestined have the option of Transdigivolution, but for partner-less Digimon like us we need to think up of another option," Angemon continued. "Our master, HolyAngemon, came up with a solution recently. It has been demonstrated by many Digimon around the Digital World that three or more Digimon can digivolve together to form a stronger Digimon. It's not exactly a DNA Digivolution like the DigiDestined are familiar with, but it works pretty much the same way. We call it the _Jogress Digivolution_."

"The three of us have been practicing with the Jogress Digivolution ever since our last battle with Chaos Seadramon. We believe that it would be of great help to the DigiDestined, as by _Jogressing_ together we have achieved the mega level." d'Arcmon concluded.

"Prodigious!" Izzy exclaimed. "Mind telling me what mega Digimon the three of you will take form when you...Jogress...together?"

Piddomon shrugged. "It depends on who becoming the central player. So far we've only practiced with d'Arcmon being the central Digimon, with myself and Angemon becoming her... _power supply_. And as for our final form, you just have to wait and see." The angel smirked slightly.

"But I thought that Jogress Digivolution has a permanent effect?" Kabukimon asked.

"It's permanent as long as the _Jogressed_ Digimon has the energy to sustain their Digivolved form. Losing energy is almost a rarity for them because with three and more Digimon being joined together, their powers combined can last for a very long time," Angemon answered.

Joe snapped his finger. "I get it. It's the same like the Zanbamon Davis and the others faced down there! It is formed from the five Nanimons combined. And it lost it powers rather quickly after the fight with the kids."

"True," d'Arcmon affirmed.

Kabukimon was amazed to hear everything that was told to him. He began to think of a way to help the DigiDestined, and if everything went well the DigiDestined could help him with freeing Tree Top Village from Chaos Piedmon's clutch.

"With the arsenal you currently have, we certainly have a chance to defeat Chaos Piedmon. However I have to implore you to be careful; Chaos Piedmon is a very crafty Digimon. He does not rely on strength alone – his trickeries are far deadlier than his weapons," Kabukimon cautioned.

"You're right," Cody agreed, his voice serious. "Even Azulongmon is defeated by a Piedmon...we need to come up with a plan."

* * *

Inside the bubble prison, the DigiDestined had finally gotten tired of standing and shouting at Chaos Piedmon for imprisoning them, and decided to sit down to calm themselves up. Two hours had passed and they had gotten rather bored instead of feeling scared. They knew that one way or another, help was on the way and that it was no use getting too worked up on it. It would only entertain Chaos Piedmon if they were seen to be anxious or scared, so they decided to ignore the Chaos General and pretended that nothing was happening.

HolyAngemon then excused himself, choosing to sit at an isolated corner to meditate while they were trapped. However he assured the DigiDestined that he would be always on alert should anything unordinary happen.

The bubble was quite large, as it was formed when all DigiDestined were in their larger Transdigivolved forms. It was formed to sustain the large sizes of Paildramon and Dinobeemon, and when both Digimon had de-digivolved the bubble thankfully remained the same size, giving the spaces which the DigiDestined would need if they were going to be trapped for a while.

The DigiDestined and their partners sat in circle, and everyone noticed that Davis seemed to be on edge on something.

"Davis? Are you ok?" Veemon inquired.

Davis sighed morosely. "I'm fine...it's just that because of me, all of you are trapped here. I'm sorry, guys."

"It's nobody's fault. Blame the bozo over there if you still want to blame somebody," Yolei said cynically, motioning to Chaos Piedmon who was sitting on a branch of the nearest tree, eyes fixated on them. Whether he'd heard of Yolei's remark or not, he seemed to be oblivious about it.

"No...It's my fault actually," Davis insisted. "I was the one who fired the balloons."

Everyone looked at the new leader of the DigiDestined quietly. Then, Yolei came up with a reply.

"You're right. It's your fault." she said, to everyone's surprise.

"Yolei...I don't think that's fair for Davis," Ken pointed out.

"I'm not finished, Ken. You're right Davis...then maybe we can blame me for not stopping you, or blame Kari or Ken for not talking you out of this, or blame TK and Cody for not coming with us, or blame Tai and Agumon for getting themselves captured. Actually, Davis...it could be anyone of us who would attack those stupid balloons! That bozo was egging us, don't you see? If you didn't Desperado-Blaster those balloons, I'd have Top-Gun them!"

"Well said, Yolei," Hawkmon noted, clapping his wings.

Tai face-faulted when he heard his name being dragged as well. "You know Yolei...you don't have to rub it in the part of me and Agumon getting captured. I was actually planning to teleport the three of us out from here, but for some reason only Davis, Kari, Veemon and Gatomon was transported away."

Yolei looked at the older teen, and smirked. "Sorry about that, but I have to say that you're gonna have to get used to it. I'm not the only Inoue in the family who can be so direct. It's a family trait."

Ken, Kari and Davis looked at both Tai and Yolei curiously. Kari especially, was becoming interested of what Yolei had just said...especially when she saw Tai's face becoming redder with every passing second. It was a rare sight for Kari to behold...Tai was blushing!

"Am I missing something here?" she asked suspiciously.

"NO!" Tai cried out instantly.

"Oh yes!" Yolei replied at the same time, still smirking.

Quickly, the brown-haired girl darted towards her lavender-haired friend. "What's it about?"

"Yolei..." Tai said warningly. "It's not definite yet! Don't you dare tell anyone...or I'll...I'll tell _her_ about it!"

"Who's 'her'?" Kari asked.

"This should be interesting," Ken remarked dryly.

"Eep!" Yolei cowered slightly, sliding herself behind Kari to protect herself from Tai. "Sheesh Tai, keep your shirt on. I won't tell anyone." Then she leaned close to Kari and whispered. "Not yet, anyway. Play along, Kari."

"Oh...oh! Why not Yolei? You know I want to know about this," Kari said, really meaning it although she knew Yolei would tell her eventually.

Tai looked at Yolei suspiciously before deciding that the lavender-haired girl won't be telling Kari anything. He then dragged Agumon towards another corner of the bubble and sat there, leaning against the wall of the bubble.

"Now what was that all about?" Gatomon muttered.

"You know Gatomon, I think everyone have forgotten momentarily that we're trapped in this bubble," Wormmon replied, smiling slightly. "And as for the earlier commotion...your guess is as good as mine."

"Well, if Kari will know about it, I'll know eventually," Gatomon said confidently.

Wormmon snorted. "Humph! If Yolei knows, then Ken will also know eventually."

"Then when will I know?" Veemon whined.

"Probably after Wormmon knows," Gatomon said offhandedly. "But I'll make sure to tell Patamon first."

The little blue dragon sweatdropped. "Aww...that's not fair!"

Hawkmon grinned. "Has it never occurred to all of you that whatever Yolei knows..._I_ know too?"

Gatomon, Veemon and Wormmon turned their attentions towards the little hawk Digimon. The white cat then inched closer to Hawkmon and raised her paw. "Then if you value your life, you would tell us now won't you?" she mock-threatened. "And 'no' is not an option!"

"Eep!"

The little commotion between the Digimon attracted the DigiDestined's attentions. Just as they saw the four Digimon huddling together, Yolei couldn't help but to ask. "Now what are the four of you up to?"

"Oh, nothing! You know us Digimon...we really like to gossip!" Hawkmon chirped.

Yolei raised an eyebrow. "Oh really?" she asked suspiciously, having a pretty good idea of what Hawkmon was insinuating.

"HEY! How come all of you are enjoying yourselves? Have the bubble gotten into your heads or something? You're supposed to be cowering in fear, begging me to release you from the bubble and spare your lives!" roared a rude voice which belonged to Chaos Piedmon.

This caught everyone's attention, even HolyAngemon's. They saw Chaos Piedmon leaped down stylishly onto the ground, his expression seemed to be a mixture of annoyance and impatience. The trickster walked towards the bubble and unsheathed one of his four swords, and pressed the tip of the sword onto the bubble threateningly.

"I'm getting bored of waiting for your friends to come and attempt a rescue. It seems like they don't care about you. If they don't care, then why should I? I'll just finish you off and get on with my business."

The DigiDestined immediately were on their guard once more, but a roar from Zanbamon diverted Chaos Piedmon's attention. The clown however still fixed his soulless eyes towards the DigiDestined with a wry smirk on his mouth. "Looks like your friends are here to take the center stage! But I won't be upstaged by some do-gooders DigiDestined. Not without a battle...oh I'm so going to enjoy this!"

* * *

Three glowing figures were seen flying around Zanbamon, annoying the larger Digimon greatly. They were the angelic disciples of HolyAngemon, currently set on frustrating the larger mega Digimon to make it lose its focus.

"Hand of Fate!"

"Fire Feathers!"

"La Pucelle!"

Two beams of white and pink surrounded by burning darts of feathers shot towards Zanbamon's face, where they thought was the most vulnerable place for the Digimon. However Zanbamon was quicker and crossed his swords in front of his eyes, thus making the attacks bounced away from him harmlessly.

"Cross Slash!" Zanbamon retaliated and delivered some severe slashings with his heavy swords. However the only thing he'd managed to slash was the empty air, as the angels were agile enough to evade the attack.

Chaos Piedmon flew towards Zanbamon and were surprised to see the angels. At first, he'd thought that he would be facing the other two DigiDestined TK and Cody. He was expecting MagnaAngemon to show up, but instead he got three champion level angels to deal with.

Taking out his other three swords from the scabbard latched on his back, Chaos Piedmon assessed the strength of the angels. "But no matter...angels are annoying pests anyway," he muttered silently. He then leaped onto the air to attack the angels, when suddenly...

"Cherry Blossom Storm!"

Waves of flower petals swirling within a blizzard overwhelmed Chaos Piedmon all of a sudden, seemingly coming from out of nowhere. The Chaos General lost his balance over the air, but managed to land on his feet. He warily looked around and saw a figure dressed in red robes jumping down from a branch which was obscured by thick leaves.

"So Kabukimon...it seems like you finally have gathered the courage to fight me," he said, smirking.

Kabukimon, who was hovering over the air with aid of winds of flower petals, stared at the Chaos General with silent anger. "Today shall be the day that you will be driven out from my village! Winds...Flowers...I command you to banish this demon! Cherry Blossom Storm!"

An even stronger wave of blizzard was summoned by Kabukimon to attack Chaos Piedmon, but this time around the clown had anticipated the attack and blocked the winds with his sword. He then produced a white handkerchief and threw it towards the armor Digimon.

"Ah! Evil be gone! Lion Dance!" Kabukimon shouted, and surrounded himself with aura of burning fire. He transformed into a glowing lion and charged head first towards the handkerchief. His burning aura soon engulfed the cloth and burned it to smithereens. Kabukimon then reared back and returned to his original form.

"Finally! An opponent who's even more dramatic than I! This should be enlightening." Chaos Piedmon then began to charge towards Kabukimon but suddenly found his face being smacked by hordes of marching fishes, followed by a mildly shocking petite thunderbolt. This halted Chaos Piedmon in midair, and before he knew it Kabukimon charged once more with his Lion Dance, but with a flick of his hand Chaos Piedmon quickly deflected Kabukimon away. His attention was at somewhere else.

"Who dares to attack me!" he roared.

"That would be us," two voices replied at the same time. Chaos Piedmon then saw two Digimon, both Rookies, stepping out from the shadows of the thick trees which surrounded the open space. Following the two Digimon were two humans, whom Chaos Piedmon did not recognize.

"I don't remember you. I am waiting for the ones called TK and Cody."

"Sorry about that, but you probably have to make do with us," Joe replied, albeit shakily. After all this was Chaos Piedmon he was facing. Facing Piedmon alone was hard enough...him feeling nervous was reasonable. However, having faith in Cody's plan, he then took out his Digivice from his pockets. "Ready, Gomamon!"

"Oh! I get it...one of those 'retired' DigiDestined. What is this, a DigiDestined reunion?" Chaos Piedmon spat.

"Well, I don't know about retiring...I'm just getting worked up," Izzy said, clutching his Digivice as well. "Tentomon, let's do it!"

"**Tentomon digivolve to... Kabuterimon!"**

"**Gomamon digivolve to... Ikkakumon!" **

"One mega-level Chaos Piedmon facing two worthless Champions and an overdramatic Armor...I like the odds of that!" Chaos Piedmon said confidently.

Kabukimon then joined the two newly-digivolved Champions. "Watch who you are calling overdramatic, you evil monster!" he said scathingly. "Winds... Flowers...obey my command!" Blizzards of cherry blossoms began to surround Kabukimon, and he rose once more from the ground. This time around it seemed as if Kabukimon was glowing bright pink. "I summon your power full force! Join with me and aid me with powers to banish this monster! CHERRY! BLOSSOM! STORM!"

He then flew off, pink aura glowing around him, and launched a massive blizzard of flowers towards Chaos Piedmon. The impact was unexpectedly strong as it rammed onto Chaos Piedmon, causing him to spin around within the blizzard. The clown was thrown off his balance and crashed onto the grounds.

"Neat!" Ikkakumon cheered. "But don't hog all the attentions there...leave something for us to deal with. Harpoon Torpedo!"

"Electro Shocker!" Kabuterimon joined in.

As Chaos Piedmon was lying on the ground, his head spinning due to the effect of Kabukimon's attack, there was nothing he could do to avoid Kabuterimon and Ikkakumon's attacks. The electric bolt and the torpedo rammed onto his body and resulted in an explosion.

* * *

"Cool!" the DigiDestined cheered. They saw the intense battle and how Chaos Piedmon was toppled by three Digimon.

"Now that's what I call strategy!" Gatomon remarked, sounding impressed. "They've outsmarted a trickery mega Digimon."

"Out of all people, I didn't expect Izzy and Joe to come here," Tai remarked.

"Yeah," Yolei said. "I thought it would be Cody or TK who would come to our rescue."

"Well...I don't know about TK, but will I do?"

That inquiry came from a voice that they knew was not trapped with them inside the bubble. Turning around, they saw Cody and Digmon on the other side of the bubble, waving their hands. However before anyone could comment anything, Cody placed his index finger in front of his mouth...a sign for them to keep silence to avoid the DigiDestined from shouting out his name.

"Cody!" Yolei said in a loud whisper. "Am I glad to see you. What took you so long?"

"And why are Joe and Izzy with you?" Tai added.

"Against someone like Chaos Piedmon we can't just barge in here without proper planning. Gennai has shown us the battle you had with Chaos Piedmon back at the lab when we arrived. Izzy and Joe are here because your parents contacted them...asking whether they have seen you or Kari, because you left the house. Davis's folks also are looking for him right now." Cody replied quickly. He then turned his attention to Digmon. "Do you think you can drill into the walls of this bubble, Digmon?"

"I'll try," Digmon promised, and begun drilling into the walls.

* * *

The three angels regrouped together, having been overwhelmed by their Mega level opponent greatly. Zanbamon had delivered non-stop slashing with his swords, and each attempt nearly took out their lives as the swords would release streams of dark fire with it. Being angels they had the advantage against the dark, but the vast differences in their digivolutionary level completely nullified the advantage. Thus, each angel was injured, albeit lightly for the time being...but it would worsen if they didn't take action.

"It's time we take the battle up a notch!" Angemon cried. "You ready, d'Arcmon?"

The female angel nodded nervously. "Now is as good as time as any."

"Then let's do it!" Piddomon said encouragingly.

The three angels' bodies then glimmered with gold-yellow lights. Angemon and Piddomon took their places on either of d'Arcmon's sides as the gold lights begun pulsating. The lights soon synchronized into one, and d'Arcmon changed into a brilliant mote of white light and shot around the open space, sending lights everywhere. Angemon and Piddomon soon followed, their bodies being turned into streaks of yellow lights. The three lights chased each other before hovering in the middle of the battlefield. Next, they coalesced together and formed a huge silhouette of a giant bird.

"**_Angemon..."_**

"_**d'Arcmon..."**_

"_**Piddomon..."**_

"**_...Jogress Digivolve to... Phoenixmon!"_**

In a flash of gold light, a giant four-winged golden bird emerged from the light. The bird, true to its name, was the firebird of the myth. It had brilliantly glimmering golden wings which gave out lights that shone the dark night like it was daytime. The feathers forming the tails grew out in long cluster, some of them resembling streaks of fine yellow hair while others had decorative features embedded on them. The firebird's sleek body was covered with light yellow fur up to its head, which resembled a beast rather than a bird. The upper portion of the head was covered with gold-metallic helmet and several feathers of gold with red and blue tips grew out from it.

The firebird known as Phoenixmon turned its attention towards Zanbamon. "Let this creature of the dark be ridden by the power of light! Starlight Explosion!" Phoenixmon flapped its wings and released a stunningly bright flash of light which blinded everyone in sight, coupled with sounds that resembled fireworks exploding. The flash of light was at first white before it turned yellow, orange, pink, red, and white again.

After the light had dissipated, Zanbamon was seen sprawled on the ground unconscious. His body glowed and reverted back into the five Nanimons and BomberNanimons, who stirred back into consciousness. They were obviously confused of what had just happened to them.

Chaos Piedmon was angered with this, his effort to make Zanbamon fight the DigiDestined wasted. Quickly he jumped towards Phoenixmon, launching his four swords towards the giant bird.

"It's time to clip your wings, birdie! Trump Sword!"

Everything happened so fast for Phoenixmon to comprehend. In a blink of the eye, Phoenixmon saw how its four wings were stabbed by Chaos Piedmon's four swords. The swords then released black thunderbolts which shocked Phoenixmon, causing the brilliant golden aura around Phoenixmon to begin disappearing. Phoenixmon crashed onto the ground and with a bright explosion of light, de-digivolved back into its composite angels.

"I'll show you not to mess with me!" Chaos Piedmon roared, and summoned back his swords telekinetically. He then fired his swords, attempting to delete Kabukimon, Kabuterimon and Ikkakumon as quickly as possible. Kabukimon however, deflected two swords which headed towards him with his Cherry Blossom Storm and saved Kabuterimon and Ikkakumon, as well as himself.

"Be gone, Chaos Piedmon!" Kabukimon said, smirking. "You cannot hope to defeat all of us."

Chaos Piedmon fumed and summoned out his magical balloons. Raising his hands upwards, he roared. "This should wipe that smirk off your face!"

Kabukimon, Kabuterimon and Ikkakumon were unsure of what Chaos Piedmon meant with his words and prepared to attack, thinking that Chaos Piedmon was trying to fool with them.

"Don't bet on it!" a voice shouted from the bubble prison, where Chaos Piedmon had forgotten to watch over. The bubble was still there...but there were a boy and a Digimon who were not trapped inside the bubble.

"What!" Chaos Piedmon shouted, and released the balloons.

"Digmon, NOW!"

"GOLD RUSH!"

Two drills shot out from Digmon's hands and zoomed towards the balloons. They popped the balloons, and instantly a loud pop ensued, accompanied by a bright flash of white light. Everyone closed their eyes, and when they opened their eyes again...

...they saw Chaos Piedmon...trapped inside a bubble prison!

"Great shot, Digmon!" Kabuterimon shouted before he reverted into Tentomon.

"What! It backfired!" Chaos Piedmon exclaimed, genuinely shocked out of his life. He tried to pierce the walls of the bubble from the inside and failed. He then furiously punched and kicked the walls, but the bubble didn't even pop.

"Oh, sorry for NOT being able to _bust your bubbles_...BWAHAHAHA!" Ikkakumon laughed gleefully, his words left unfinished as he de-digivolved.

The Nanimons and BomberNanimons saw what happened to their master, and looked at each other. Seemingly reaching a mutual agreement, they rose on their feet...and took off immediately, much to everyone's surprise.

"Cowards!" Chaos Piedmon screamed angrily towards his turned-tail minions.

"If you want to follow them...all you have to do is ask," Kabukimon said with a chuckle.

The clown general frowned. "Don't make fun of me, you flower freak! This is NOT the end!"

"Oh put a sock in it," Gomamon said.

"Winds! Uplift this imprisoned drama-demon!" Kabukimon summoned, and winds soon appeared beneath the bubble containing Chaos Piedmon.

Digmon suddenly got overzealous. "I know! Let's play soccer!" He flew up towards the bubble, which wasn't big enough as it contained only Chaos Piedmon. He then gave the bubble a forceful kick, sending the spherical bubble towards the way the Nanimons and the BomberNanimons had taken off. The bubble bounced on the ground once and rammed onto the running Champions, knocking all five of them down. It was at the same moment when the bubble imprisoning the DigiDestined and HolyAngemon popped softly, releasing them out.

"We're free!" the DigiDestined cheered.

All of a sudden, the imprisoned Chaos Piedmon and his minions were engulfed with purple beams of light, which transported them away from the grounds in a blink of the eye.

"Aww...it looks like they've decided to take the ball with them to home!" Digmon quipped, and de-digivolved back into Armadillomon.

Cody smiled. "Come on...we've better get going as well. It's getting late."

* * *

Chaos Piedmon and the Nanimon clan landed on the metallic floor of the Velvet Claw's throne room with a loud thud. Hearing a soft snicker coming from above, Chaos Piedmon got up quickly and struggled to stand straight.

"You have failed, it seems," a cool voice remarked. It was his master, Chaos Specter, with his pet Digimon BlackGatomon on his lap. "And humiliatingly too. How _embarrassing_, for someone of your caliber. It only took ONE ARMOR DIGIMON to outsmart you."

Chaos Piedmon bowed his head shamefully, staring at the floor. "I'm sorry master...I was outsmarted, and outnumbered..."

"_Outnumbered_?" asked Chaos Specter sarcastically. "_Outclassed_ seems more like it! You were merely clowning around with them!"

Chaos Piedmon remained silent, not daring to say anything else for fear to have it turned against him.

Chaos Specter shook his head. "Fortunately though...it doesn't matter whether you have failed or not, because while you're wasting time with the DigiDestined I have finally completed two major tasks which will aid me greatly in my search for the power of time. Look at the viewing screen."

The harlequin obeyed his master and observed the viewing screen. The screen flickered and Chaos Piedmon saw a red Agumon standing on a platform inside a dark chamber. The red Agumon had his eyes glowing red, and looked menacing despite him being in rookie level.

"With Chaos Wargreymon gone, one position for the Chaos Generals is currently empty," Chaos Specter said. "I have found a perfect mon for the job. Do you recognize this Digimon, Chaos Piedmon?"

Chaos Piedmon tried to recall his mind for any Agumon he'd encountered before, but could not remember any. "I'm sorry master...I don't know this Agumon."

"Hmm... perhaps you will know him after he warp-digivolves. Chaos-AI, begin transferring power inside the Agumon now."

"_Affirmative. Transferring power initiated. Energy level of subject - Agumon; attribute - virus; and level - rookie; is increasing. Power is complete for Digivolution of subject to champion level...power is complete for Digivolution up until ultimate level...power is now complete for Warp Digivolution process."_

"Excellent. Begin Warp Digivolution process now."

"_Command affirmed. Warp Digivolution process is initiated in five...four...three...two...one...BEGINNING NOW!"_

On the screen, everybody in the throne room saw two beams of crimson energy shot onto the red Agumon, causing him to first advance into a Tyrannomon. Then he was engrafted with metallic parts, transforming him into MetalTyrannomon, which earned a gasp from Chaos Piedmon.

"It's him!"

Then, the MetalTyrannomon disappeared in a flash of black and red light...and became Chaosdramon.

"Meet your new fellow Chaos General now... Chaosdramon!"

Chaos Piedmon gulped. He hated MetalTyrannomon, but his master had chosen him to fill in the spot where Chaos Wargreymon had left empty, and he had no choice but to accept. "But what had happened to Chaos Wargreymon?"

"Missing your old teammate already?" Chaos Specter sneered. "If you're curious then I'll amuse you. Behold the screen once more!"

The screen shifted into a larger dark chamber, with two platforms. On one of the platform, a Kimeramon was seen...seemingly in a suspended animation. On the other platform was a viral MetalGreymon, who was roaring and struggling.

"The process here is rather difficult. The MetalGreymon you are seeing now is none other than your old teammate. I was successful in my attempt to make him de-digivolve one step backward into his ultimate form of MetalGreymon. The next process is a little tricky. I don't want him to digivolve into a Wargreymon. Instead I want him to achieve an alternate mega level of his. I had him battle against many machine-type Digimon which are...were, under my command. MetalGreymon proved to be victorious, and in his viral state of mind he did what his normally-composed self would not do...he consumed each defeated Digimon's data to add on his own. Of course, I have planned for this to happen but I didn't suspect that MetalGreymon would ruthlessly acquire the data of the fallen Digimon just as easily as that. He had always redeemed such act as despicable. However who am I to complain when what he did was actually a great favor for me?"

"I don't understand," Chaos Piedmon said, baffled.

"You will...after you see him digivolve. Chaos AI, begin Mega Digivolution for the subject: MetalGreymon."

"_Affirmative. Energy level for subject-MetalGreymon is enough for Mega Digivolution. Process will begin in five...four...three...two...one...BEGINNING NOW!"_

As the MetalGreymon began to emit black and grey light, Chaos Specter mimed the words softly, but was within Chaos Piedmon's hearing range. The clown cringed upon hearing what his master had said.

"MetalGreymon, mega-digivolve to... Machinedramon!"

* * *

/-/

/-/

**Author's Notes:**

I'm sure a lot of you are looking forward for Cody and Armadillomon's Transdigivolution in this chapter, but are treated with different digivolution instead. A note about that Jogress Digivolution: I think I've mentioned it somewhere before about it being different from DNA Digivolution (although in all actuality, they are the same). To all reviewers, thank you for reviewing.

**_Dark Qiviut_** – It's ok. I checked with different browsers and saw what you meant with the chapter being glitched, and immediately re-uploaded it. No need to apologize. And thanks for the links.

**_Digi fan_** – Hopefully this chapter is worth the wait as well.

**_Quinton Notwen_** – Nope...no Shakkoumon or any other ultimate Digimon that Cody and Armadillomon are going to form yet. The grammar mistakes are unavoidable due to my part...I've tried checking it but can only be assured that it has no spelling mistakes or some of the basic grammars.

**_Gerjomarty_** – I'm glad that you like how Chaos Piedmon is turning up. What do you think about him being blundered in this chapter? Hawkmon is still snappish about the Transdigivolution stuff simply because it had happened to him in less than a day (the duration between Catrina's Grand Entrance up till this chapter takes place in a matter of one day only).

**_Jack the ripper_** – Why would he bring Milleniumon back? Maybe you've missed it, but I have mentioned his attentions quite a number of times already. He wants the power to transcend time. Why does he want that kind of power...it will only be revealed in the finale.

**_DTV_** – Hmm...I've never thought of Chaos Specter going to the Tamers Universe to get the Digimon episodes there. What I'm having in mind is that both Asuka Laboratory and Velvet Claw have facilities to record battle footages (kind of like the Viewing Globe in the Power Rangers series...or how the computers inside the X-Mansion are able to obtain the scenes of crime in the X-Men animated series). Gennai does not maintain complete contact with the Tamers / Frontiers universe, he's just able to gain some bits and information of the going-ons there... but not the details. And about chapter 19..it is an error on my part. I was writing Legends of the DigiDestined where DemiDevimon is being featured, and it got mixed up while I wrote Vengeance.

**_Bluesv20_** – Uh...can't choose yet. Meteormon (face-faulted)... Shakkoumon (hmm)... SkullScorpiomon (AAAHHH!). Wait...and...see...


	32. Reliable Knowledge, Part I

_**VENGEANCE**_

**_Chapter 31 – Reliable Knowledge, Part I_**

/-/

/-/

A mass of people had gathered in front of the Hida's dojo in one Saturday afternoon. While not really a crowd, it was not a usual occurrence for the locals to have these many people all in one day. Parents with children seemed to be hanging around outside the dojo, while a lineup of children seemingly aging from ten and below were seen entering the dojo. A reporter was seen nearby, apparently giving out some coverage of the event happening at the dojo towards a burly cameraman who was standing near a van with a local television.

"_The much-anticipated junior kendo tournament championship is now set to take place today at the Hida Dojo. The establishment's proprietor – Chikara Hida – who is also the organizer of this championship, comments that this is the first time such tournament is held at his dojo and today is indeed a grand day. Kendo students from other wards of Tokyo as well as from Odaiba gather here today with one goal: to win the coveted grand prize – the **Silver Shinai** trophy and a 100,000 Yen cash prize. This is Hiroaki Ishida, reporting live for Odaiba Fuji TV."_

As the cameraman signaled a thumbs-up and lowered the camera, the reporter – a tall man with short dark brown hair dressed in blue suit – gave the cameraman his microphone before heading off to join two particular blond teens that were standing inside the small shade of a tree. The taller blond was dressed in a blue sleeveless T-shirt and a pair of black jeans, while the younger was clad in a light green shirt, brown cargo shorts and a white fisherman's hat covering his mop of hair. Perched on top of the younger blonde's hat was a particular orange winged hamster.

To be more precise, they were Matt Ishida, TK Takaishi and Patamon.

"Great job, dad," Matt commented, grinning. "So have you done with the reporting for today?"

Hiroaki Ishida chuckled. "I doubt you can hear me from here, son, but thanks anyway. I'm free for now...but we're going to need to shoot some snippets of the tournament and the prize-giving ceremony later, but that's Shingo's job," he replied, referring to the cameraman. Hiroaki then looked around, as if looking for someone before landing his eyes on his younger son. "Say, TK... Where's your mom?"

"Oh, mom's already inside, interviewing Cody's granddad," TK answered brightly.

"Nancy's assigned for this too?" Hiroaki asked with interest, raising an eyebrow.

TK smiled. "Actually, her boss told her that anyone could take the job, but since Cody's a close friend of mine mom wants to be the one to be writing about this for tomorrow's newspaper. We've just touched down from France yesterday morning and mom quickly called her boss asking whether she's got any assignment ready for her when she learnt about this. As for me, I'm glad we got home just in time. Cody did inform me about today though, but I was kinda surprised that it's so soon."

"That's sounds like Nancy alright," Hiroaki said and chuckled again before looking at Patamon. "So, little guy...did you enjoy Paris?"

"Yeah!" Patamon chirped exuberantly. "Although I've been there before but we didn't get to have a look around."

Hiroaki nodded before focusing his attentions to both Matt and TK. "So, since this is Cody's big day I take it that the other DigiDestined team will be here as well to cheer for him? And will the others bring their Digimon partners as well?"

"All of us are going to be here, although only the juniors will be bringing along their partners along. I don't know about the newest batch though," Matt replied with a shrug. "I think Sora told me that Tai is gonna bring along Koromon as well."

"We've had Veemon, Hawkmon, Armadillomon and Wormmon devolve into in-trainings though to make them a little more inconspicuous," TK added.

Hiroaki nodded approvingly. "That's good plan. Although now many people know about Digimon, it's best not to make them the highlight of the show."

"I don't mind being in the spotlight once in a while," Patamon quipped.

"You'll be regretting saying that when you're in my shoes," Matt muttered dryly.

Patamon shifted slightly to look at Matt. "And why would I want to be in _your_ shoes?" he asked innocently.

TK chuckled while Matt groaned slightly. "Well...oh, never mind. I see Sora, Mimi, Izzy and Joe manage to make it here," the teen said, pointing towards a direction where four teenagers were seen walking together from the nearby block. He and TK waved at the foursome, and Sora spotted them instantly. The four DigiDestined quickly made their way towards Matt and TK.

"Hey there," Sora greeted Matt and TK, before bowing slightly. "Hello, Mr. Ishida."

Hiroaki Ishida smiled. "Hi, Sora, kids... Looks like I'm rather out of place here with you teens. I think I'll look for Matt and TK's mom inside the dojo and get the best seats...although I think they're already reserved for me." He said with a wink. The DigiDestined laughed, and Mr. Ishida excused himself and walked away towards the dojo.

"So...all of us are now here?" Matt asked, scanning around. "I don't see Tai, and any of the juniors except for TK. Cody is of course, inside...preparing."

"Davis and Ken are inside the dojo too, helping out with setting up things around," TK supplied. "I wanted to help but they told me that they got it covered, and made me find Cody instead, so after surprising him with my 'return' I decided to hang out around here. And as for Yolei, I think she's got roped in helping out her folks running the mart, at least until the show's started. The mart's getting a lot of business too this day with all the people turning up for this event. Kari's there too, helping Yolei out."

"Oh I bet Tai's there too..." Sora said, and exchanged knowing smirks with Mimi.

The guys exchanged confused looks with each other. "Is there something we should know about?" Joe asked wryly.

"Whatever it is, I think that it must be something pertaining about the way Yolei and Kari had been bugging Tai after we've taken care of that Chaos Piedmon a couple of days back," Izzy said. "So, mind enlightening me?"

"It's not our secret to tell," Mimi shot back. "Besides, I think that it's a universally-known gossip that Tai is now seeing somebody...Oops." The DigiDestined of Sincerity smiled sheepishly upon her comment, with Sora glaring at her and the other boys looking at her curiously.

"Huh? Are you saying that Tai's found somebody?" Matt asked, dumbfounded. "And I, as his best friend...don't know about it?"

Izzy pondered upon this for a while before shrugging. "Well, I think I can place some faces into this 'mysterious girlfriend' of Tai's, but I'll wait till he decides to tell us all about it. But I'm pretty sure that she's a relative of Yolei."

"Yolei's sister, then? It couldn't be..._her_?" Matt asked, and sweatdropped upon a mental image that came to his mind. "The girl everyone's saying that is gonna be the school's next valedictorian?"

"Well, you aren't getting anymore info out from me or Mimi anymore, as today's Cody's big day and we're here to cheer for him, not to prowl on Tai's private life. So let's get inside already," Sora suggested, and pulled a sulky Matt with her towards the dojo. Mimi entwined her arms with Joe's and Izzy's arms and the threesome joined the couple in the dojo, leaving a very confused TK and Patamon.

"Now what do you think is that all about?" TK asked his partner.

"Well, sounds like Tai now has a girlfriend from what I can take. Think I'll ask Gatomon about it."

"You'll do that, and I'll ask Kari. Now let's go in."

* * *

Yolei waited impatiently for one of her siblings to take her place at the counter. The kendo tournament was about to start, and she didn't want to miss it as Cody was going to compete as well. The boy was like a younger brother to her, and Yolei wanted to be there to cheer the loudest for Cody.

"Where is Momoe?" she grunted, as her eyes lingered to the clock which was hung on the wall above the glass door of the mart. It was ten minutes to one in the afternoon. "She should've been here by now."

A soft chuckle was heard nearby. It came from Kari, who was leaning against the counter and sipping a drink from her Cola. "Relax, Yolei...we still have ten minutes before the tournament starts, and I've already asked Davis and Ken to save us some seats."

Yolei only nodded in reply, and stood up to get a better look at the people around the mart. Amidst the crowd that was inside, the lavender haired DigiDestined tried to make out for somebody she recognized. She knew that her parents were currently at the dojo, delivering the mineral waters they were sponsoring there.

A glimpse of short, dark-blonde hair caught her attention. "Mantarou! Have you seen Momoe?"

Mantarou, Yolei's eldest sibling and only brother, looked towards her direction. "Nope! Try calling Chizuru to come down here to take your place if you wanna go to Cody's show already...I'm having my hands full out here." Indeed, Mantarou was doing his best in trying to place about ten cans of tuna on their designated places all at once. His action seemed to attract the attentions of some of the shoppers.

Yolei grunted and slumped back to her seat. "Yeah, and suffer her wrath for tearing her away with her visiting _boyfriend_," she said with mock-horror. "Why do I always get the difficult job?"

"You know, I still can't believe that Tai is now going out with your sister," Kari commented with a smile, changing the topic.

This seemed to uplift Yolei's moods. "Yeah, I didn't believe it either...until Chizuru confirmed herself that little detail with me, though she didn't really say that they were dating... yet. Actually, she said that she was tutoring Tai for math and science for this one-month summer holiday, as Tai really needed to get his scores up in both subjects and had approached her for help as she was so good in both. But I know my sister, and I tried to pry even further as of her reason for her _willingness_ to tutor Tai."

"Lucky for you that Chizuru doesn't mind telling you about it," Kari said sulkily. "I've been trying to get Tai to tell me all the details ever since we got back from that battle with Chaos Piedmon...but he refused to answer anything other than that whole 'we're just friends' thing. You know...I really had considered telling Gatomon to force out the nitty-gritty from Tai until your e-mail came later that night. However it still lacks details, so continue please."

Yolei winked. "Perfecto! Anyway... it turns out that as for compensation for her teaching Tai; Tai had to accompany her...shopping. But that's not all; I think Chizuru did have a hidden agenda in her mind..."

"What? Don't keep me in suspense," Kari insisted.

Yolei looked around, seemingly making sure that nobody (without counting Gatomon and Poromon, who were behind the counters eating some candy bars) would hear what she was about to reveal to Kari. She leaned closer to the younger girl before continued in a slightly lowered voice. "Chizuru actually has kind of like...a small crush...towards Tai. At least, that's what I think. I've told her about the whole DigiDestined thingy, and she seemed to be interested when she heard that Tai, Matt and Sora are one of us too as the three of them are in her class. However she only asked in details about Tai being a DigiDestined and I told her that he's your brother and he's the leader before Davis stepped up."

Kari blinked. "It does sound like a small crush to me. And no wonder Tai's been out rather a lot before, and I thought that he was out playing soccer or going out with his friends."

The older girl then grinned devilishly. "You know...if their relationship is a success, you know what this means?"

"Uh...they'll get married when they reach legal age?" Kari asked, confused.

Yolei nodded and her grin became wider. "And... What does that make us should that happen?"

Kari's mouth formed an 'O' as she realized what Yolei was hinting. "That'll make us..."

"SISTERS!" they both squealed at the same time. "We're gonna be sisters!"

Their excited squeals generated attention from the other shoppers. Mantarou merely shook his head before resuming back to his work while the others continued about with their business. However, Gatomon and Poromon were now curious of what their human partners were talking about.

"What's this talk about being sisters?" Gatomon demanded, from beneath the counter.

"Do care to explain that to us," Poromon continued.

The two girls were about to explain to their Digimon partners when suddenly, Momoe Inoue entered the mart. Yolei immediately got up from her seat at the counter, and grabbed Poromon while Gatomon jumped over the counter and onto Kari's arms. The two DigiDestined girls then dashed out from the mart before Momoe could explain her reason for being late.

"We'll explain it over the tournament."

* * *

With the excitements happening on the human world, the Digital World also had its share of going-on. Things were rather quiet for the last couple of days, but it would about to change really soon.

Previously, Chaos Specter had succeeded in digivolving MetalGreymon into his alternate, viral mega form of Machinedramon. This Digimon, similar to the Dark Master the previous team of DigiDestined had faced four years back, was also a mindless Digimon with his thirst of power greater than his capability of feeling compassion. With all the alterations made in him and the numerous Chaos Rings clasped on various parts of his body, there was no longer the repentance Chaos Wargreymon within him.

Immediately after his success, Chaos Specter planned to finally digivolve Machinedramon and Kimeramon together to form Milleniumon. Though Milleniumon wasn't really his ultimate goal, but it would mean that he was only one step closer to his real goal: the warrior of time itself.

However, something went wrong when he attempted to merge the two viral Digimon.

* * *

**: Flashback :**

"MetalGreymon mega-digivolve to... Machinedramon!"

Chaos Specter was amazed when he saw the viral MetalGreymon, once his servant, digivolved into a fully robotic dragon digimon made out of shining gray metal and equipped with deadly weaponry. Embedded on the chest part was the purple Zeed Crystal. On the podium where once stood MetalGreymon was now the three-time larger Machinedramon, coated in pitch black aura.

"Chaos-AI, proceed by Jogress Digivolving Machinedramon and Kimeramon."

"_Command acknowledged. Warning...the power supply of the ship will not be enough to sustain the Jogress Digivolution. Proceed?"_

"I don't care what will happen; just proceed with the issued command!"

"_Affirmed. Jogress Digivolution sequence activated. Transferring power from the Velvet Claw's main supply to subject: Machinedramon and subject: Kimeramon."_

Chaos Specter was momentarily taken aback upon hearing the monotonous statement given by the computers. Channeling power from the main supply would only mean trouble...as was proved when all of the sudden the Velvet Claw shook violently. The lights flickered while the computers lapsed, but the main screen remained online. However Chaos Specter couldn't have cared less, as the two Digimon began to be bathed with dark aura which seemed to emanate even _through_ the screen.

But as both Digimon began to levitate from the ground, the ship suffered a blackout and the screen went offline. Chaos Specter blinked, sworn that he could hear a crashing sound several storey below where the massive chamber containing Machinedramon and Kimeramon were located. The ship shook upon the crash – which by now, Chaos Specter had safely assumed to be the sounds of the two Digimon falling back onto the podium as they had begun levitating from it prior to the blackout.

A loud blasting sound suddenly ensued once more from the chamber, followed by a violent shook. The ship was currently hidden within the clouds of the sky, and following the crash sound the ship seemed to be pulled down by gravity. Fearing the worst, Chaos Piedmon, who was around, was immediately commanded by Chaos Specter to retrieve the emeralds uncovered by Chaos Seadramon at Emeraldo City to provide the ship with a temporary power backup. The general was also ordered to take all the technicians of the ship to the control room and the holding chamber where they were to fix the problem as soon as possible.

Within a few minutes the power was restored, but something else had occurred as well.

When the power failure happened, the Chaos Rings had ceased to function as they were powered up by the Velvet Claw...enabling the two deadly Digimon to escape once more. Chaos Piedmon could only find pieces and remains of broken Chaos Rings lying around the holding chamber and a huge hole on the wall. The clown general immediately used his balloons to seal the wall with his impenetrable bubble to momentarily rectify the problem before the technicians could attend to the damages.

**: End Flashback :**

* * *

"Chaos-AI, have you located any sign of our two rogue Digimon?" Chaos Specter asked.

"_Negative. The searching for subject: Kimeramon and subject: Machinedramon are still in progress."_

"Damn. It seems like Milleniumon is taking over the two bodies once more," Chaos Specter muttered under his breath. Then his emerald eyes glinted with malice as he broke into a sneer. "But even he can't force them to fuse together, if my technologies too have failed me. I'll track them down...Milleniumon will not get away again from me." His eyes momentarily flashed with crimson light before ceasing back to their original color.

"Masterrr?" called a purring female voice which drew Chaos Specter's attention instantly.

In came Catrina, already digivolved into his ultimate form of Bastemon. In this form Catrina indeed looked beautiful, and from the way she swayed her waist back and forth while walking meaning that she had learnt to use her charms as well as her brainpower. Without waiting for Chaos Specter's reply the feline Digimon climbed the stairs while eyeing Chaos Specter with a...flirtatious intention?

"Yes, Catrina?" Chaos Specter replied, his voice sounded disinterest.

Catrina merely smiled and didn't reply until she was right in front of the throne where Chaos Specter was sitting. Flicking a few stray strands of red hair back, she then approached the Digital World conqueror and leaned towards him close. Her deep green eyes bore into Chaos Specter's emerald orbs, as if taking in all his emotions without saying a word. Then she spoke, and any suspicion which Chaos Specter harbored against the ultimate level Digimon crumbled instantly.

"Oh, masterrr...please, please can I go out there and test out my new knowledge against those pesky DigiDestined? I've trrrained harrrderrrr these past two days, and my thinking ways have imprrroved too. I have a plan, and I think I'll succeed. I've alrrready selected an ultimate Digimon to come with me, and even _he_ contrrrols several other ultimate Digimon who all bow to his command. He's rrreally a powerrrful Digimon, betterrrr than that Asurrramon...that I'm sure. Do you know that he's a magician as well? He claims to be a darrrk wizarrrrd, and he has this book where he stands on and trransports him arrround wherrrever he wants to go. Oh please, _please_, can I go?" she asked; her eyes wide and hopeful similar to a way a child looked at her parents whenever she wanted something.

Chaos Specter couldn't help but to feel amused with her enthusiasm. He also noticed that the Bastemon had toned down her meowish way of speaking like she did before, and the only evidence remaining from that was the purring sounds produced whenever there was a letter 'R' in the sentences she was speaking.

Right now, as he hadn't had anything to do, why not amuse his pet with her plans?

"Very well, Catrina... you may go. And the Digimon you've chosen sounds a lot like a Wisemon, but I don't recognize his minions."

Catrina brightened considerably and innocently gave her master a quick peck on the cheek, similar during the times when she was BlackGatomon, the difference was only when she was BlackGatomon she had licked his cheek in the ways of a cat. Now, as the human-shaped Bastemon she figured that a small kiss was much more appropriate...although as a catwoman, the urge to lick still remained, but suppressed by her more dominant human half. She couldn't figure it out, but just felt that it wasn't suitable.

If Chaos Specter was flustered by her act, Catrina was innocently oblivious to it.

"You'rrre right...I'm taking a Wisemon along with me. I think his minions are called the Phantomons, but I'm not so sure. He says that he has them underrr his command, and I believe him. Well, I'll be off now. Therrre's Asuka City to assault. Ta!" She sauntered off merrily, leaving Chaos Specter feeling dubious.

As he rubbed the cheek where Catrina had planted a kiss to him, he shook his head. '_There's no need to remember THAT now...it's in the past.'_ he berated mentally to himself. But then, another voice came over to his head.

'_But isn't THAT the reason why you're going through all these obstacles, for all these years...only for HER? Her and her namesake, in fact?'_

Chaos Specter slumped on his throne with a sigh as he continued hearing voices in his head.

* * *

Cody was with the other _kendokas_ inside the main hall of the dojo. All the kendokas, or kendo practitioners, were around his age range, and there were sixteen of them in total including him, coming from sixteen different districts and wards around Tokyo.

Looking around, Cody was surprised to see the crowd generated by the tournament. While he knew that most who were attending the event were mostly families of the other kendokas, he was astonished to find that reporters for televisions and newspapers were here as well. (Never mind the fact that both reporters were actually TK's father and mother). He then looked for familiar faces and was attracted by shouts of encouragement from voices who he knew only too well.

"Hey, Cody! Over here!"

His green eyes immediately focused on Yolei, who was standing on the bench and waving both hands furiously to get his attention. She seemed to be obliviously garnering attentions towards herself as well. In fact, _all_ his fellow DigiDestined seemed to be getting the attentions from the crowd due to a long banner they'd brought along. On the banner, printed in shining gold letters against a dark blue background was written...

**_- BREAK A LEG, CODY! -_**

Cody was once more surprised to find that ALL the DigiDestined had turned up for the event as well. With all, he meant his fellow teammates and their seniors. All eleven of them occupied the front bench located opposite the entrance, and six of them brought along their Digimon partners as well. At the farthest end of the same bench Cody saw his mother, Minako Hida; sitting beside Yolei and Upamon was on her lap. She waved towards Cody when their eyes met and beckoned towards the banner.

On the bench beside the one occupied by the DigiDestined sat four children who were within Cody's age, dressed identically in simple beige robes and brown pants. Three of them were boys while one of them was a girl, and Cody recognized them as his fellow kendokas – training along with him under the tutelage of his grandfather. They too, seemed to be supporting him, though without a banner they had brought along their _shinai_ and thumped them on the floor simultaneously as a sign of support. On the bench behind his fellow kendokas Cody noticed several familiar faces too of his neighbors.

"My, my... It seems like you have a lot of supporters there, Cody," said an unfamiliar voice from behind of Cody.

Cody turned around, and his eyes met a boy with spiked brown hair and blue eyes. The boy was an inch taller than Cody, and from the looks of him, seemed to be older as well. He was smiling pleasantly as he extended a hand towards Cody's direction.

"The name's Azuma Nakagawa. I'm from Shibuya district," he introduced himself. "Pleased to meet your acquaintance."

Cody returned the greetings politely and took Azuma Nakagawa's hand. "Pleasure. I'm Cody Hida... but it seems that you've already known me."

Azuma nodded. "Your grandpa is the organizer...so go figure. I'm just glad to have finally met you. Maybe you don't know this, but my sensei is a _friend_ of your grandpa's."

Cody raised an eyebrow upon Azuma's tone. "Really? I don't know about this. When you said _friend_, do you really mean _friend_, or the opposite? You seemed to stress on the word friend more."

The older boy blinked momentarily before laughing. "Yeah...according to my sensei, he and your grandfather are once rivals when they were young. But I think they've reconciled of what differences they had, and now they're friends."

"That's good to hear," Cody replied.

"So...is this your first time competing in such tournament?"

"Yes." Cody answered, wondering on the reason why Azuma was suddenly smiling.

Azuma then leaned close towards the DigiDestined. "You know...sensei does have a wish when he sends me here to compete. He wants me to win the tournament, and he'd told me that you're quite an excellent kendoka yourself. Of course, I'm not bad myself, that I can say...sensei trains me hard for this tournament just to see how his pupil compare to Hida-san's pupil. Hopefully, we'll get the chance to face each other. Perhaps we'll beat the other contestants and make it to the final round where we can face each other."

Cody narrowed his eyes slightly upon Azuma's unconcerned suggestion, which caused three kendokas around them to scowl in annoyance. The boy was confident, Cody noticed, but Cody didn't like the fact that Azuma's suggestion which already caused several kendokas to already dislike him and Azuma.

"We shall see," Cody said finally. "Nothing is definite for now."

Azuma grinned. "Ah...but your old man is the organizer right? Surely, you're favored..."

'_That's it,' _Cody thought with a frown. '_Either he's too frank for his own good, or he's set to tick me off.' _The other kendokas around them waited to see how Cody would response with such a scandalous remark, and were surprised to see that the young green-eyed boy was still calm.

"There will be no favoritism in this tournament. My grandfather is not one of the judges and it's not up to him to make any decision," Cody said evenly.

"Eh, don't take it seriously Cody. I was only joking," Azuma quickly said upon seeing Cody's non-amused expression. "Now if you'll excuse me, I think I'll go around socializing some more before the tournament starts." With that, he sauntered off merrily towards another group of kendokas.

The three kendokas, who had scowled upon Azuma's slighting comment about the other competitors, approached Cody with smiles on their faces.

"You're really alright, Cody," said one of them, a thin boy with black eyes and messy black hair which Cody thought to be rather similar to TK's blonde mop. He too, extended a hand towards the young boy. "I'm Yugure Seito, from Saitama district; nice to meet you, Cody. Don't let that Azuma brat get you down, Cody... he's one pompous kendoka if you ask me. Last year there was a tournament such as this, held at Shinjuku, but I don't think I've seen you there. In that tournament, Azuma won first prize, and he's been over the moon about that ever since."

Cody smiled and decided that he liked Yugure Seito, and got to know his other two friends. They exchanged a few words before the MC called for everyone's attention to begin the tournament. Each of the contestants was introduced, and by the time Cody's name was announced it was obvious that he got the loudest cheer of all. The three judges were then introduced.

"First, we have... Mr. Akayashi Meioh, from the Shibuya division..." The elderly man, dressed in crisp blue robes and black pants, stood up. Cody noticed that this man was no older than his grandfather himself, and hearing where he came from caused Cody to become suspicious. He looked at Azuma, but the boy seemed to be looking someplace else. Then, he caught on how Akayashi Meioh stared at his grandfather momentarily before resuming on his seat.

Cody's eyes narrowed once more. Yugure whistled softly and whispered to Cody. "In case you didn't see the pattern – Akayashi Meioh is Azuma's sensei." Cody nodded as he grimaced, thinking back on how Azuma had hinted that Cody must be gaining some favoritism as his grandfather was the organizer, when Azuma's own sensei was one of the judges. Cody however, didn't doubt Akayashi Meioh's credibility and pushed any suspicious thought he had aside.

"The second judge... Mr. Haruhiko Kanagawa, of Chiba district." A man with dark hair, green eyes, and a stern expression on his face, seemingly in his forties stood up in acknowledgment before resuming his seat.

"And the third..." Cody was struck on how young the third judge was. He looked like he was barely twenty years old. The young man was blonde-haired, with blue eyes which seemed to sparkle with mirth. "...is from Shinjuku district, Mr. Jonathan Lee."

The young judge stood up to regard his introduction before signaling to the MC that he had to address something. The MC nodded, and the young judge known as Jonathan Lee took the microphone. "I am here actually on the behalf of sensei Kurayami Showa, who is ill at the moment and cannot attend today's kendo tournament. He sends his regard to all the contestants, and wishes to you all the best. Thanks." With that, the blonde judge sat again.

The MC then proceeded by explaining the concept of the tournament to the contestants where the sixteen contestants would be pitting their skills against each other in a one-on-one duel in order to proceed to the quarterfinals. Eight pairs would be drawn, and the winners amongst the pairs would be the ones to proceed, and each pair would be allocated ten minutes for demonstrating their skills to each other, and extra time would be given should the winner could not be determined. Among the eight winners from the first round, only four would proceed to the semifinals, and the two winners would proceed to the final match.

After that, the MC produced a small satchel and asked each contestant to withdraw a number from within. This was done to determine against who a contestant would be facing in the preliminary round. Cody withdrew a number, and was glad to see that he wasn't going to face Yugure and the other two friends of his, or against Azuma Nakagawa. His opponent instead was a plump boy, almost two inches taller than him.

"Alright... let the preliminary round begins. First contestants: Cody Hida of Odaiba and Suguru Masaki of Minato."

* * *

/-/

/-/

**Author's Note:**

Here begins Cody's arc, which will have three chapters. I was planning to update last week, but was stalled due to some bout of flu and tons of homework! I find this chapter really difficult to write, as I'm having difficulty in describing the events happening in a kendo tournament as well as finding suitable names for all the extra characters I've come up with and the names of various wards of Tokyo for references. Then there's also the opening report given by Matt and TK's dad, and the scene where Kari and Yolei are discussing about Tai and Chizuru (are you surprised, or are you not? I'll explain on this even further in another chapter taking place after Cody's arc). You may notice that many minor characters in the Digimon Adventures – 02 era making appearances throughout the story.

On the brighter side, I'm pleased to say that... this Monday's my birthday! Joy for me... ha:) Also, I can safely say that Vengeance will be a 50-chapters story, with one prologue (the opening chapter) and one epilogue (closing chapter) making the grand total of 52 chapters. Right now I've already written 31 chapters with the prologue, which means that there are still 20 more to go, and not forgetting the epilogue! Yikes! Better speed up my writing process now. However, do bear in mind that this will subject to change if I feel like it in the future – chapters may be cut down in number, or may be added...but it should still be around the same total.

Thanks for the reviews everyone. Ninety-three reviews already...seven more to go before it reaches 100. You know, I've never thought that I would reach the number when I first wrote this. Thanks to you readers for making it possible. Remember... read and review.

**_Dark Qiviut_** – I think I've forgotten to mention in the Author's Note for the last chapter that MetalGreymon can evolve to Machinedramon, according to Megchan's Digimon Encyclopedia hosted by the Shining Celebi website. And as for the Dark Spore kids...you'll be pleased to see the latter updates for this story, as the three featured Spore Kids (plus Takaishi who's yet to make his appearance) will play a larger role. Gotta make them do something, right? After all they are the DigiDestined. Although, I can't really feature ALL the Spore Kids as who knows how many of them are actually there? However Michael, Catherine and the other International DigiDestined will only appear in the planned sequel for Vengeance.

**_Digi fan_** – Yes he can... look for my response to Dark Qiviut's review.

**_Jack the ripper_** – If you love alternative methods of Digivolution then you'll probably like the upcoming chapters. Stay tuned, ok?

**_Quinton Notwen_** – Oh my...Yolei is not that bigmouthed now, is she? Then again...now all the DigiDestined girls know about Tai and his girlfriends while the guys are still in the dark. And as for the Davis-Yolei relationship, to me they will always look like a pair of siblings judging from their bickering and all. And as for the clay statuette goodness, things may end up a little bit differently from what you may think. (shutting up now)

**_Bluesv20_** – If you're eager to see Cody and Armadillomon Transdigivolve, then you'll only have to wait until part three of Reliable Knowledge arc.

**_Gerjomarty_** – Momoe is as old as Jun, who's supposedly older than Tai, Matt and Sora. Chizuru is mentioned to be in one of Matt's class according to the Digimon Encyclopedia by Chris McFeely, so I think Chizuru's the more appropriate choice to pair up with Tai. And I really don't know how the idea came up to me to pair these two up... I mean I just think of Kari and Yolei as sisters then the idea just came out of nowhere. The angels Jogressing are going to be a huge help to the DigiDestined in future, and soon Angemon and Piddomon will take place as the central Digimon in the triumvirate to produce yet another two different Digimon. I simply loved writing Chaos Piedmon's battle...as he was outsmarted just as Chaos Seadramon was outmatched strength-wise.

**_Yami Vizzini_** – Welcome to Digimon 02: Vengeance, Yami Vizzini. I'm glad you've decided to read my stories. Yeah, the earlier chapters are evidence of how my writing was a year and a half ago. I wanted to revise it, but I think it would be better for me to finish writing this first. And I also have Legends of the DigiDestined to write too. Oh...busy!


	33. Reliable Knowledge, Part II

_**VENGEANCE**_

_**Chapter 32 – Reliable Knowledge, Part II**_

/-/

/-/

The city of Asuka looked like it was built with a combination of modern technologies and medieval architecture in mind. It was a small, yet livid town, mould from cities of the ancient European era. Most buildings were painted in different shades of red, with brown and white mixed in for good measures. Red rectangular bricks were mainly used in constructing the buildings as well as the roads and walkways.

It was in one particular street, called the Mildred Street, where most Digimon were on a fine day such as this. The street housed a vivacious bazaar, where various merchants gathered to sell their goods, which consisted of mainly food items, clothes and some other interesting products. Customers of various shapes and sizes were seen bargaining with the merchants, who all pleasantly entertained their customers in acquiring the right prices for the goods.

It was in the middle of all the buzzes where two familiar figures were spotted walking together. Taking a break from her meditation, Doumon chose to visit the city as a form of relaxation to her mind. Gennai was seen walking beside her, and the two seemed to be sharing a pleasant conversation as he showed Doumon around.

"It has indeed been a while since I have been inside a crowded place," Doumon commented, scanning around interestedly with her sharp eyes.

Gennai grinned. "Well, you've been cooped up inside Kulon Mines for too long, I'd say. I don't know about you, but if it were me, I'd go nuts!"

The two shared a laugh. Doumon then replied, "Indeed, I could agree no more than you do. You have always been an adventurous one, as far as I remember. Unlike me, as I find content in living in servitude as I have been for a very long time." Doumon blinked slightly before shaking her head, seemingly wanting to suppress an emotion she was feeling.

"Indeed," the brown-haired warrior said, feeling slightly uncomfortable as he scanned for Doumon's emotion. Knowing of the priestess' past, he decided to change the topic, and saw the perfect thing. "Well what do you know? It's a fortune-teller establishment. Wanna come in and have your fortune looked up?" They had arrived in front of a small shop, which was painted with shocking pink instead of the usual red (it is however a shade of red), and from the glass walls both Gennai and Doumon could see the interior of the establishment which was mildly lit with orange lights. The entrance was without a door, and was decorated with roses and lilies of various colors.

Doumon looked amused. "Are you forgetting that I myself have limited clairvoyance ability? I do not need somebody who _claimed_ to be able to see the future to see mine. I can do so myself."

"Well, _you_ can, but I can't," Gennai pointed out with a smile. "Come on, loosen up a little. You're beginning to sound like an old monk. Besides, you'd know if this fortune-teller is telling the truth or just making up predictions."

The priestess merely shrugged. "I guess it would not hurt."

Gennai and Doumon then entered the fortune-teller shop, and were greeted with a strong aroma of flowery fragrance. To Gennai, the aroma was rather overwhelming and soon he found himself struggling not to gag. Doumon merely smiled and shook her head, her somehow not being affected with the smell. However her eyes then narrowed as her nose twitched slightly. She sensed a familiar tinge.

"Wait a second. I recognize this smell...although I have not smelled it for a very long time. Could it be...?"

Her words were however cut when a pleasant, accented, slight husky feminine voice greeted them. A petite figure walked in from a doorway behind the counter which was obscured with long beads hanging from the walls above the entrance. It was a Lillymon, albeit with one minor different detail. This Lillymon was wearing a lilac dress and a headdress of the same color instead of the pink ones worn famously by the Lillymon partnered with Mimi Tachikawa, the infamous DigiDestined of Sincerity.

Doumon stopped dead on her tracks when she saw the Lillymon, her eyes widened seemingly in disbelief. _'It is her! But can it be? I thought...'_

The Lillymon however was oblivious to Doumon's presence as she had her eyes on Gennai, who was in front of the priestess Digimon. She smiled.

"Hello there. Welcome to mah place. Can ah help ya?"

'_She has the same accent...'_

Gennai smiled upon the hostess' pleasantness. "I'm just interested in getting my fortunes told...wait a minute, aren't you..." He frowned, as though as he remembered something but couldn't place it.

The Lillymon blinked. "Hey, ah recognized ya... ya are Gennai, that warrior who's been helpin' the DigiDestined kids lots. Ah've been hearin' lots of your stories from tha other customers. Ah'm sure glad ta meet ya today. Ya look more handsome than from what ah've been hearin'."

'_And that slightly flirtatious manner...'_

"Yeah, err...thanks. That's me alright," Gennai said, blushing slightly, but the frown didn't go away. "But I'm sure I recognize you from before, from my early years. Haven't we met?"

"Maybe ya've seen mah kind before. Ah mean, we Lillymons aren't that hard ta notice, if ya get what I mean," the Lillymon suggested with a playful wink which suggested some mischievousness in her. She then leaned towards Gennai from behind the counter and held out her small right palm, fingernails were perfectly manicured with glittering violet paint. "So...can ah read your fortune?"

'_And there's that annoying habit of hers trying to read out other people's fortune...'_

"Well sure, I mean that's why I came in here in the first place." Gennai held out his right palm towards the Lillymon. The fairy took it briskly and examined the palm with a critical eye.

'_No wait... she learnt how to read fortune from ME a long time ago!'_

Doumon frowned. All these details were too much of a coincidence for her to dismiss.

'_It has to be her!'_

"Pink Lillymons are common...but I only know of one who dresses in light purple," she said finally, her eyes twinkling with a sense of recognition. She then bore her sharp eyes into the Lillymon's dark leaf-green eyes. It got to the fairy's nerves, and she glanced away instantly.

"Excuse meh?" the Lillymon asked, confused. It was obvious that she had no idea of what Doumon was saying.

Doumon continued, "Tell me, you are a viral Lillymon, right?"

The nature fairy was mildly perplexed upon the inquiry. "Ah guess so. Ah know that ah'm a virus, but ah am _not_ evil if that's what ya are tryin' to say." She stressed heavily on being not evil.

"No, that is not what I meant. And tell me, does your name have only one 'L' letter instead of two?" Doumon continued.

The Lillymon looked relieved upon hearing that. "Well, yeah... that's true. That's one that makes meh different from the usual Lillymons. Hey...how come ya know so much about meh? Ah don't know anythin' about yeh."

"Lilymon, do you not recognize me?"

The Lillymon, or Lilymon as she had confirmed, knitted her brows together, being deep in thought. She tilted her head slightly. "Well, now that ya've mentioned it...ah think ah've seen ya face before, but ah can't exactly place tha name yet."

"Lilymon?" Gennai wondered, and instantly a portion of his childhood past came back to him. He snapped his fingers immediately when he recognized the name. "I KNOW I recognized you before! Hey, Doumon...wasn't she one of your best friends back during the old days?"

"Best friends? Us?" Lilymon asked blankly. "Ah don't know..."

"Does the name _Doumon_ strikes you as familiar?" Doumon prompted, ignoring Gennai's question. Her attention was solely focused on the flower pixie.

Lilymon looked like she was suddenly jolted with electricity from the way she jumped upon the revelation of the name. Her eyes still retained the confused look, but it was slowly replaced by what looked like a dawn of comprehension.

"Doumon? Ah...ah think ah've heard of tha name before," she said uncertainly, and studied Doumon closely. She blinked, feeling a sense of familiarity coming to her as she stared towards the violet-furred priestess. "Yeah...ah think somethin's comin' back to mah mind...ah remember one purple fox priestess, and ah seem to have a fuzzy image of a yellow one of ya... ya have a twin or somethin'?"

Doumon smiled slightly, looking relieved. "You are definitely remembering something from the past, then. Yes...I think you are _the_ Lilymon."

Lilymon sighed. "Ah'm not sure 'bout that yet. Ah mean, ah remembered lots of things from the first day ah was hatched...but there are always these images that ah don't know when ah've seen them. They came in mah dreams sometimes and ah thought that ah've been imaginin' them. They feel so real though, so ah know ah'm not dreamin' when ah have these images. Ah also seem to remember one female Digimon with black wings and purple gowns, lookin' very cold an' beautiful at tha same time." Lilymon shook her head. "Ah'm really confused now."

Doumon hung her head down. "_Reconfiguration_ can do that to you. But Lilymon... the one you have described just now matches perfectly with the lady we used to serve a long time ago. You are remembering your past."

"Reconfiguration? Ya mean, like ah've lived a life before ah was hatched? And that ah was killed by somebody, and ah got reconfigured?" Lilymon asked shrilly, her body visibly shaking. She was thoroughly perplexed. It was something she didn't expect to hear.

"Lilymon?" Doumon asked carefully, her right arm reaching out to comfort the shocked Lilymon.

However, her arm was slapped away by Lilymon, though not harshly but was done in haste. The fairy Digimon looked up towards her taller customers with a sorrowful look. "Ah'm sorry...but this is all too much for meh to accept! Ah don't know what to do. Ah...ah don't think ah can handle it just yet. Ah think ah'm gonna close the shop for today. Please go."

"But Lilymon..."

"Please...ah'm not feeling really well. Ah need to lie down... please just go," she pleaded. "Ah...ah'll think 'bout it...'bout those things ya've said. Ah need some time. This is all too difficult for meh."

Doumon and Gennai glanced at each other, and the man nodded. Lilymon escorted the two of them out from her shop, and when she was alone in the shop green vines with thorns on them shot down from the ceilings and closed the door-less entrance. Lilymon then leaned on the wall, and tears cascaded down from her wide eyes to the small of her cheeks.

Everything Doumon said came back to her like a lightning. She received some flashes of images, which confused her greatly, but what she knew that Doumon was speaking the truth.

"Ah remember now. Ah remember ya alright Doumon..."

Outside, Doumon and Gennai were bewildered with the whole ordeal with Lilymon. Gennai noticed the far-away look on Doumon's face and how Lilymon reacted with the whole revelation. Then all the little details of history came back to him... long ago, Doumon did have somebody she called her best friend. That was Lilymon, whose attitude was a hundred and eighty degree opposite to the priestess. Doumon was as serious as Lilymon was bubbly and energetic. Gennai was younger back then, and his encounters with either Doumon or Lilymon had been brief.

"Doumon, you ok?" he asked, noticing how the usually-calm priestess was shaking slightly.

"I...am fine. It is just too painful, for her not remembering me," Doumon admitted softly, her eyes shining. "We were like _sisters_, not just best friends."

"You've said to her yourself...reconfiguration can do that to Digimon," Gennai said calmly. "They won't immediately remember their past, unlike the partners of the DigiDestined, who usually will always regain their memories prior to hatching after a reconfiguration. Give Lilymon some time, she did look like she remembers some details, and to force her to recall all of them can confuse her. She did recognize you with the images she described, right."

Doumon nodded, and immediately wiped the tears which threatened to escape her eyes with her long sleeves. "I must look really foolish now."

"Not at all," Gennai assured with a calming smile. "Tell you what, why don't we call it a day and go back to the lab? We can come here again later to talk with Lilymon. Maybe more details will come to her in time."

"Agreed," Doumon said, nodding.

The two of them then began to set forth back to the temple... when suddenly screaming were heard coming from the bazaar, followed by a stampede of Digimon, sellers and buyers, all running away towards the opposite direction from the bazaar. Avoiding the chaos, Doumon took off from the ground while Gennai leapt onto one of the lower roofs with great agility. When the crowd dissipated, they saw the source of the pandemonium, and sighed in annoyance.

"Well what do you know," Gennai said, his azure eyes narrowed as he reached inside his robe. "It's the party poopers."

"Is that not the vain feline I saw battling with two of the DigiDestined a while ago?" Doumon inquired with distaste, beckoning towards a lithe womanly figure with cat features, standing side by side with a tall figure garbed in brown robes and yellow hood. Around them were several phantoms like Digimon in red, each had a scythe secured in its hand. Doumon studied the female Digimon closely, her eyes had the same look like when she saw Lilymon, but this time around the priestess immediately shook her head.

'_This is NOT the same Bastemon.' _

Gennai nodded, while taking out from his robe a metallic tube with a square red button embedded on it. He held the tube in a manner of one's holding a sword and jumped down from the roof, landing smoothly beside the tall priestess. "That's Catrina, Chaos Specter's pet cat. And I see she's bringing with her some ghastly reinforcements."

"What are _you_ doing here?" Doumon demanded.

Catrina smiled menacingly. "I'm herrre to attack this city. No rrreason rrealy, just to experrriment with some of my latest trrrainings. How nice of the two of you to join us today...although I'm actually thinking of giving a payback to a certain Sylphimon!"

"Thinking? Well that's new," Gennai smirked. "Why don't you go find yourself a hobby and save us all the trouble? Besides, Sylphimon's not around."

"No can do, human. You see, _this_ is a hobby of mine," she replied sweetly before stepping back, and beckoned for her companions to move forward. "If Sylphimon's not arrrround, then you'll do just fine. Wisemon, Phantomons...attack!"

"What's the hurry?" Gennai groaned, and took a fighting stance instantly. Pressing the button on the metallic cylinder, a blue blade made out of intense energy shot out from the tube. Smirking, he said, "I'm sure glad that I didn't forget to bring along my Photon Rapier."

Catrina snorted. "That weapon won't do you any good."

The robed Digimon, Wisemon, immediately charged forward and cried, "Pandora's Dialogue!"

A massive book with brown leathery cover and yellowish pages appeared under Wisemon's feet. A gust of wind came out of nowhere, turning the pages until it reached a specific place. A column of yellow light emanated from the book, energizing Wisemon. Then he thrust his right arm forward, and sent sparks of electricity towards Doumon and Gennai.

Gennai blocked the electric bolt with his weapon, only to find the laser blade exploded, leaving the cylinder intact. The warrior groaned and pressed the button once more, and another laser blade formed. "Not a very wise move, Wisemon...all pun intended."

Doumon in the meantime blocked all the bolts aimed to her by shooting several red scrolls which contained spells to undo any other spells. This attack was effective against any wizard Digimon, thus a large number of Wisemon's attack was nullified upon contact with the scrolls. To take care of the remaining bolts which still threatened her safety, Doumon produced a giant paintbrush and jumped into the air, forming a circular gateway with her weapon.

"Demon Gate Escape!"

All the electric bolts were then pulled in by the gateway, and another gateway opened near the Phantomons. Wisemon's electric bolts shot out from the gateway and electrocuted all the Phantomons. While not deleted, the Phantomons were shocked quite severely, as their master had intended for the bolts to make a quick kill for Doumon and Gennai.

Wisemon was surprised to see this and summoned another spell from yet another page of his book, and directed a wave of green aura towards the Phantomons. To Doumon and Gennai's dismay the Phantomons were instantly revitalized.

"My minions...attack them!" Wisemon ordered in his raspy voice.

The Phantomons, six of them in total, immediately launched themselves towards Gennai and Doumon. The warrior and the priestess became immediately wary of their opponents, who were all ultimate Digimon. Armed with scythes they made themselves deadly enemies for the outnumbered Gennai and Doumon.

Gennai quickly raised his rapier and charged towards one of the Phantomons. The targeted Phantomon saw him coming, and quickly slashed his scythe to make a quick finishing of the digital human. However, Gennai adeptly wielded his laser blade to block the incoming attack and thrust his free hand forward, with five fingers opened as he narrowed his eyes. The Phantomon immediately felt as if he was pushed by an invisible force and was flung backward towards his other comrades. Gennai grinned, and thanked his telekinesis ability for the advantage he had.

As the Phantomons struggled to stand upright, a battle raged between Doumon and Wisemon. Both Digimon possessed magical techniques, but Wisemon's skills were far superior to Doumon's, who only possessed limited magical techniques. However, she did know one trick that Wisemon was unable to defeat – her Spell Prohibition Papers technique was adequate enough to cancel out all of Wisemon's attack. The result of the battle between them was a stalemate, but Doumon decided to take the battle into the next level to finish Wisemon off.

Drawing a glimmering kanji over the air, Doumon aimed for the magical kanji towards Wisemon. The kanji let out an aura filled with darkness, and the symbol itself then shone with deep purple light. After that, the symbol plummeted towards the dark wizard Digimon and maimed him on the chest. Wisemon staggered a little as his robe was singed by the attack, but he was relatively unhurt.

"Excellent technique, priestess...but not good enough!" he said mockingly. "Let me enlighten you on how it's supposed to be done!"

Raising an arm upwards, Wisemon summoned three orbs of different colors. The blue one contained the power of water; the yellow had the power of electricity while the red one possessed the power of fire. The orbs shimmered as they orbited around Wisemon's uplifted arm. This was Wisemon's another technique – the Eternal Nirvana. He then let out a loud cry, and the orbs flashed in response. The blue orb released an intense stream of water, the yellow orb shot out bolts of electricity stronger than the ones Wisemon had summoned from his spell book, while the red one let out a jet of raging fire. The three attacks surrounded Doumon from three sides, making it impossible for her to escape.

Doumon however had more trick up her sleeve, as she created a magical ward around her to shield herself from the deadly attacks. At first it seemed to be effective, but the three streams of attacks continued to plummet against her shield. As time passed she grew tired, struggling to just defend herself from Wisemon's attack. The barrier soon flickered, and Doumon panicked as it would mean that she would be vulnerable to any attack. It would mean the death of her, if she didn't think of something. She needed help direly.

Gennai wasn't faring any better himself, in fact the Phantomons all had ganged up on him. They all released their Shadow Scythe attack simultaneously towards the warrior, attacking him from six different directions. Gennai proved to be a strong opponent himself, by successfully countering several attacks with his laser blade and used his telekinetic powers to generate a ward protecting him from the others. However this caused him to use up his limited resource, and soon his telekinetic powers failed. The Phantomons at once used this to their advantage and launched multiple attacks towards him. Gennai was blasted on all sides and with a loud cry of pain he stumbled on the ground, unconscious. His robe was badly torn, revealing wounds and lacerations on various parts of his body and extremities.

The Phantomons let out a gleeful laugh and was about to deliver the final blow, when a female voice stopped them.

"Back off him, varmints!"

Looking up, the Phantomons saw the petite figure of Lilymon hovering in midair. Her hands were clasped together, forming a budding yellow flower which opened up to reveal a cannon inside which was morphed from her hands. The Phantomons ignored Lilymon, and was about to resume with their cruel intention on Gennai. Their ignorance angered Lilymon.

"Ah said, back off from him. Flower Cannon!"

Lilymon then shot a green ball of energy towards the Phantomons. The attack was aimed with excellent precision, as with one blow two Phantomons were shot and plunged away from the unconscious Gennai. The other four were outraged by Lilymon's action and zoomed up in the air, wanting to get rid of her immediately. She smiled grimly and flew around the four Phantomons, generating her Flower Wreath attack in hopes to nullify the evil within the Phantomons.

The Phantomons however, had different ideas as they slashed the wreath with their scythes.

Lilymon shrugged, and took out a semi-transparent purple bottle from her back. The bottle seemed to contain some kind of vial, and Lilymon flew higher as she took off the bottle cap before drinking half of the liquid. Placing the cap back, she wiped what remains of the liquid from her lips and smiled.

"Well, ah wanted to purify y'all from the evil that is consumin' ya, but ya don't seem to want to cooperate with meh. Ah guess ah have no choice then."

Purple aura emanated from Lilymon along with a soft fragrant smell, and she gave the Phantomons a defiant look as purple and yellow lights burst from her whole body, blinding them instantly. Covering their eyes with their sleeves, the only thing the Phantomons could hear was a strong cry of evolution, coming from Lilymon.

"**Lilymon mega-digivolve to... Rosemon!"**

When the lights dissipated, the Phantomons saw that in place of the petite ultimate level Lilymon now stood a woman with an enviably curvaceous body. She wore deep purple leotard and long black boot which went up to her thigh, and a black cape with silvery-grey interior. Her headdress, patterned like a budding rose, was the same color as her leotard and now covered her eyes as well. Long, straight, shiny blonde hair escaped the headdress and flowed down her back. Rosemon wielded the thorny vines which were draped around her arms as weapons for both defense and attack. Her lips, glossed with deep purple color, smiled wickedly.

"Well boys...let's dance! Thorn Whip!"

By dancing, Rosemon actually meant business. She plummeted down towards the four Phantomons, and used her vines to whip the ghosts severely. She wasn't holding back, judging by the way she whipped each and every one of them, or by the way she lashed out at all four at once. Her anger however didn't deter her mind, as before whipping them Rosemon had made sure to lash on their arms first, forcing them to release their scythes. Without their weapons, the Phantomons were pretty much vulnerable from attack, much less from a Mega Digimon such as Rosemon.

Rosemon then landed on the ground smoothly on her high-heeled boots, and behind her four unconscious Phantomons plummeted down and crashed onto the brick road. Her arrival earlier had caught Wisemon's attention and he had ceased from attacking Doumon. He was dismayed upon seeing how his servants were defeated single-handedly by the female warrior of nature which had just arrived.

"Who are you, woman?" Wisemon demanded angrily.

"Yeah, what's the big idea?" shouted Catrina. She however, was intimidated by the sight of the impressive Mega.

Rosemon smirked haughtily towards the two Ultimates. "The name's Rosemon, and ah'm a friend to Doumon and Gennai. Besides, y'all are attackin' the city where ah lived! Ah must stop ya!" Rosemon declared, and approached the weary Doumon.

"Lily...no, Rosemon... you remembered after all! I am glad..."

"Hush, hun," Rosemon stopped the priestess from talking by thrusting the bottle containing the vial she'd taken earlier into Doumon's hand. "Less talkin' and get drinkin'. It's an energizin' potion...ah used it and ah can digivolve all the way to mah Mega form. Ah concocted it mah-self... but ah've never tested it on anybody else. It should work though. Try it."

Doumon smiled. "Look who is talking now." She took the half-full bottle and drank the remaining half. Instantly she felt a cooling sensation spreading all over her body. Her energy was replenished...but she remained in her ultimate level.

"Well, ah guess it works on only meh," Rosemon commented. "No digivolvin' for ya."

"It is good enough, for now," Doumon assured, and smiled gratefully towards Rosemon. "What makes you come here to save us?"

The tall fairy Digimon replied, "Ah've been tryin' to think 'bout what ya've said to meh when ah heard noises. Then I saw Gennai gettin' his butt whipped by those Phantomons. Ah took care of them ghosts, but we still need to get Gennai to a healer or somethin'. Ah can't heal his wounds."

"Then all we need to do is to dispose this dark wizard and the cat," Doumon said determinedly. She produced her paintbrush again and readied herself.

"Mah pleasure...but wait a second..." Rosemon's voice trailed off when she set her eyes on Catrina. "Did we know that feline from somewhere? Ah think she looks quite familiar too."

Doumon shook her head. "Believe me, she is _not_ the one you think you know."

"Well whateva' ya say, sugah," replied Rosemon with an offhanded shrug, as if it didn't really matter to her.

Catrina looked terrified, as she never expected a Mega Digimon to be present. She looked at Wisemon. "Wisemon, do something!"

Wisemon was silent, before an inspiration struck him. He hovered away from his books, and the pages turned again. Wisemon then uttered an enchantment in a language recognized by no one except him. The pages turned until the last few pages before they stopped. Once again deploying his Pandora's Dialogue method, Wisemon then summoned dark powers from his spell book and waves of red light were generated from it. Wisemon wielded the power momentarily with both hands, his voice saying out the incantations even louder and with an intensity which unnerved Rosemon and Doumon.

"What's he doin'?" Rosemon wondered.

"I do not know, but I am not waiting to find out!" Doumon answered, and rushed forward. She was about to launch her scrolls when suddenly Catrina intercepted her and engulfed Doumon with a few of her energy-sucking vampire bats. Doumon was thrown back, but luckily Rosemon had caught her before she crashed on the road.

"Don't interrrrupt the show. That's rrrude of you!" Catrina chided with a sarcastic smirk. She then went back to standing beside Wisemon.

A column of red light soon formed around Wisemon, and he directed a claw-like hand towards the fallen Phantomons. Bolts of electricity shot out from the pages where Wisemon was standing on, and were conducted by the dark sorcerer's body onto his outstretched hand and towards the Phantomons. All six Phantomons writhed and came back to life before growing twice in size.

Their robes suddenly exploded, revealing metallic skeletal bodies which consisted of only the spinal bones, the scapular bones and the ribcages. Attached to the end of the last spinal bone was a glowing pink orb, which crackled with electricity. The cavities on their scapular bones didn't connect with bones of upper extremities, but instead a crackle of blue electricity connected the scapulas and the bones of hands. Their hands each held a longer, deadlier looking scythe, which consisted of a metallic pole and a pink energy blade, somewhat similar to Gennai's Photon Rapier. Each Phantomon had a red orb attached on his sternum, and the orb was attached with an onyx cape and hood which was blood red in the interior. The hoods no longer hid the Phantomons' shadowy features; instead frightening metallic grey skulls emerged, staring towards everyone with their hollow eye-sockets.

"Behold, my improvements on the Phantomons," said Wisemon arrogantly. "They are now MetalPhantomons!"

Catrina huffed smugly, while Doumon and Rosemon gulped, feeling intimidated by the frightful MetalPhantomons. They were now twice in size compared to their earlier forms, and from the looks of it, were more powerful. It would be difficult for Rosemon and Doumon to handle them this time around.

"Ah really think that we're gonna need some more help!" Rosemon groaned, readying her vines to defend herself.

Doumon energized a magical barrier around the two of them. "Let us pray that the DigiDestined will be here in time to assist us. Until then, we must hold on. I just hope that somebody is now at the laboratory and notice our plight."

* * *

Beneath Asuka Laboratory, all four angels were meditating inside a private chamber. Neither could come to their friends' aid.

Inside the lab, Piximon also was noticeably absent. He had received a tip-off from an ally – Andromon – about sightings of two massive Digimon appearing since two days back at the deserts of the eastern quadrant of the sector. The reported Digimon were said to be roaming around day and night, but never left the desert. It was as if they had something to do at the desert, but Andromon was not specific in his message. Intrigued, Piximon had decided to take it upon himself to investigate the matter. At the time the message was received, it was dawn and nobody had awoken yet. Piximon left a written note telling that he had to step out to investigate a matter, describing Andromon's revelation briefly before taking off.

Not too long after, GrapLeomon and Jewelbeemon had gotten hold of the message, and decided that Piximon would need their help. In their hurry, they had taken along the message as well, which contained the route to the location Piximon had gone off to. This made the message unavailable to the other occupants of the lab. As the result, by the time Gennai and Doumon were about to have an outing at Asuka City, everything was in order and both of them didn't suspect that anything had gone amiss.

However, two Digimon were still around the lab, observing the Piximon-staffs working on with the computers with mild interest. Gomamon was currently sprawled lazily on one of the cushion-couches at a corner of the lab, while Tentomon was buzzing around watching the Piximons working without actually disturbing them. Like Izzy, he too had utmost interest in new knowledge; and after all the times he spent watching Izzy and his interest on laptop, some of the interest had rubbed on the ladybug Digimon as well.

It was then, the lab's alarm blared, alerting the staffs and the two Rookies.

"Hey, what's happening?" Gomamon called out, still not moving from the couch. He sound annoyed. "Can somebody turn the alarm off?"

"We've got an emergency!" replied a Piximon who was sitting near the console where the biggest screen was.

"The alarm will turn off automatically," said another.

"As soon as we take a look of what the emergency is," said yet another Piximon.

Tentomon flew over to the biggest screen, where several Piximon-staffs were gathering by. One Piximon hit a flashing red button on the console, causing the alarm to stop blaring and a scene was shown by the screen. The Piximons gasped upon seeing what was being shown. Tentomon recognized Gennai, and the violet-furred priestess who was staying at the lab as well – and they were in trouble.

"Uh oh," said Tentomon worriedly.

Gomamon jumped from the couch and approached the screen. Looking up towards the screen, he whistled. "Woah, check it out. It's Lillymon! But hey...since when did Palmon decide that pink's not for her? What's with all the purple?"

Tentomon followed the white seal's gaze and saw that a Lillymon had stepped in the fight, whereas Gennai had fallen. "I don't think that's OUR Palmon. She's still back at File Island with Gabumon and Biyomon."

"Well, she still looks good."

Both Digimon then gasped in amazement when they saw the 'Lillymon' digivolved into a beautiful fairy Digimon. "Woah, check HER out! That's Palmon's mega form? She looks totally hot!" Gomamon said in amazement. "I couldn't wait to tell Palmon about this."

Tentomon snorted. "Well, a mega form or not, she might need some help. She and the priestess can't handle those bad guys alone. They're outnumbered. That Digimon in long robes really freak me out, the catlike one doesn't look like she's doing anything, but those skeletal Phantomons just gave me some weird case of goose-bumps. I don't like the odds of those two women against them."

"So what do you propose we do?" asked Gomamon.

"Well...we ought to alert the DigiDestined, that's for sure."

"And how do we do that?"

"It's easy," said a Piximon matter-of-factly. "We use the email program to do so."

"So Tentomon, get to it. Type the email to the kids."

Tentomon raised his tiny pincers. "Very funny. You think THIS would do us any good? I couldn't even hold things properly."

"And you think a pair of flippers is a typist's dream come true?" Gomamon asked, proving his point by clapping with his flippers once.

One of the Piximon flew by to a smaller computer and pressed a few buttons on a keyboard. "I can type the message to be sent to the DigiDestined. I'm now launching the email program. Tentomon flew towards the Piximon quickly while Gomamon jumped onto a chair to get a better view. Then the Piximon hovered above the keyboard and began punching in a few keys.

"DigiDestined, please come to the laboratory quick. We have an emergency." Tentomon read the message, and nodded. "That sounds good enough."

Gomamon frowned a while, before his face broke into a small sly grin. "Well it sure needs some spicing up; the message sounds tad plain. Here." Gomamon jumped into the panel, and used his claw to key in a few more letters, with the Piximon watching in interest. Tentomon however didn't bother and perched on the chair where Gomamon was at earlier. "Ok! Now we can send this message."

"What did you add?" Tentomon asked curiously.

"Oh nothing...just something that makes the message much more appealing than before."

The Piximon then said, "I'm sending the message to the D-Terminals now."

* * *

"Winner: Cody Hida!"

In the meantime, Cody had just finished the preliminary round, and had emerged victorious in his match against Sugure Masaki. Both contestants were required to demonstrate the ten basic _kata_ against each other by the judges. Cody had won, because his opponent had made a mistake of striking on Cody's stomach. It was not allowed for any strike to be made on other parts of the body except the forearms, the both sides of the body and the top of the head. Though it was purely accidental on Masaki's part, in a contest such mistake would mean only deduction in point. Each judge could award up to ten points to each contestant, making the total marks for each contestant to be thirty. Cody had gotten perfect scores from Judges Haruhiko Kanagawa and Jonathan Lee, but an eight from Judge Akayashi Meioh.

The next contestants were then announced, but the DigiDestined paid not much attention to the others. They were here for Cody, after all.

"That dirty old geezer!" Davis whispered angrily towards the one sitting on his sides – Ken and TK. He pointed towards Akayashi Meioh and scowled. "Cody should've gotten a perfect score for that. That Masaki kid doesn't stand a chance against our Cody."

"Relax, Davis," TK grinned, patting Davis's shoulder. "At least Cody's qualified for the quarterfinals. Poor that Masaki kid – he gets a 5-6-7."

"I can see that the first judge is going to be VERY strict in giving marks," Kari said, while fiddling with her digital camera. She was seated beside TK. "I mean, Cody's opponent only did one mistake and his mark is down to half."

Ken smiled while rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "He did one mistake, yes...but anyone notice how Masaki moved rather clumsily, while Cody's steps were done with precision and grace? That should explain why Masaki's points are deducted a lot." Ken had read about Kendo, but preferred to practice another form of martial-arts – the karate.

"Still..." Davis persisted. "If the other two judges both gave Cody tens, then why couldn't he?"

"Yeah! It's unfair to Cody!" Demiveemon quipped silently.

"Hey, Demiveemon. We're supposed to be quiet," Patamon whispered. Gatomon merely gave the little in-training one of her dangerous glares.

"Oops, sorry!"

Yolei however seemed to be in high-spirits. "Woo-hoo! Cody! You're the MAN!" she shouted, knocking Poromon down from her lap as she stood up. Cody apparently had heard Yolei's shout. He turned around and waved, with a slight blush apparent on his face. The attention he had garnered from Yolei alone was enough to embarrass him in front of the public, as he had finished with his part of the contest and there were others who were currently contending to qualify for the quarterfinals. Nonetheless he was happy for her support.

The background blared with clapping sounds as the winner was announced. "Winner: Seiji Fujisawa."

In the meantime, another conversation concerning of a different topic took place between the older DigiDestined, just as the third pair was announced.

"Tai! Why didn't you tell us that you're seeing somebody now?" This came from Matt. Tai sweatdropped and whistled, pretending he didn't hear him. Matt had longed figured it out the identity of Tai's 'girlfriend', and had spent the whole ten minutes during Cody's match to force Sora to admit it. Sora finally relented, much to Tai's annoyance.

Sora smiled. "Sorry Tai. No use pretending now. We know."

Tai cast a dirty glance towards Yolei, who was oblivious to it. "I should've known..."

"Well what do you expect? They're sisters!" Matt laughed, and patted Tai on the back. "Hey...maybe we ought to go on a double-date or something, me and Sora, and you and your new girlfriend."

Sora grinned. "That's not a bad idea."

Tai frowned. "Guys...please, we're not dating..."

"Yet." Matt grinned. Tai aimed a mock-punch towards his friend.

"All those shopping trips can't be considered as dating yet?" Mimi leaned in to add her two cents. She however was feeling sorry for Tai, and decided to change the topic. "Hey, anybody besides me noticed that the blonde judge is rather cute?" Tai sighed gratefully and Mimi gave him a grin.

"He looks too old to be somebody you want to date," Joe said dryly. He was rubbing the down of his back. "Why didn't they give us chairs with something lean against? My back's aching from all the bad postures I've been assuming."

Izzy didn't say anything; he was preoccupied with a video-camera he'd apparently brought along. He had mentioned of wanting to take snippets of the lives of the DigiDestined to work on a personal music video about all of them. He clapped along with the other audience politely as they announced the third qualified contestant for the quarterfinals, a girl who went by the name of Setsuna Meiji.

The MC was about to announce the fourth contenders for the preliminary round, when five beeping sounds blared simultaneously. Everyone looked around, and the younger DigiDestined realized of the reason instantly.

"Sorry about that!" Davis said, and took out his D-Terminal. "I've forgotten to turn this thing off."

The MC proceeded to announce the fourth pair – Yugure Seito and a boy whom no DigiDestined had bothered to listen, as they were anticipating trouble brewing in the Digital World. The younger DigiDestined checked on the D-Terminals while the older DigiDestined decided to wait for them to spill out the message to them, as they didn't want to make themselves conspicuous by gathering around the younger ones.

The DigiDestined frowned in confusion. The message sounded dire enough, if it wasn't for the last two words that finished the brief two sentences.

_DigiDestined, please come to the laboratory quick. We have an emergency. Love, Tentomon. _

Kari raised an eyebrow. "Love, Tentomon? He's got one weird sense of humor."

"Weird indeed," TK muttered dryly. "But it doesn't sound like Tentomon's style. Gomamon maybe, but definitely NOT Tentomon."

Another beeping came, signaling the arrival of another message.

_STUPID GOMAMON added that in the previous message. Ignore that last part. Do come here, we REALLY have a situation. Gennai's in BIG TROUBLE!_

"This one doesn't sound like a prank to me," TK said, satisfied.

"Gennai's in trouble?" Yolei wondered. "What kind of trouble?"

"Well, I guess we'll know if we check it out," Davis said.

"But we'll miss Cody's match!" Yolei said, horrified. "But don't get me wrong...I just...I want to help..."

"Tell you what, why don't you and TK stay here while Davis, Kari and I go and check the problem out?" Ken suggested, knowing his girlfriend's plight. "If things get serious we'll call on you." Ken chose to leave TK and Yolei behind as they were the closest to Cody.

"Ok," said Yolei, nodding gratefully. "But you better contact us if you need us."

"Deal," Ken said, smiling.

Davis looked over to Izzy. "I have no problems on going...Izzy's recording the whole event anyway and frankly, I just want to see how Cody's doing. But think we should inform Tai and the others?"

"We're going to scout ahead and see how things are first," Ken reminded Davis. "If we can take care of it ourselves, then we will. If we need help, then we know who to call."

Davis and Kari nodded. Demiveemon immediately crept close to Davis's shoulder as the boy stood up. Ken grabbed Minomon close to him, while Gatomon simply followed Kari as the three DigiDestined went out from the dojo. Cody saw this and gave Yolei and TK a questioning look. TK shrugged, and mouthed to Cody saying that Cody needed not worry. The senior DigiDestined asked of what was happening, but Yolei simply replied with two words.

"DigiDestined business," she said, as the winner was announced.

"Winner: Yugure Seito."

* * *

At the same time at the Digital World, seeing as they were severely outnumbered Doumon refused to let down the barrier she had erected around herself, Rosemon and the unconscious Gennai. Rosemon seemed itching to fight the MetalPhantomons, but Doumon reminded her that should the MetalPhantomons ganged up against her Rosemon would not stand a chance.

However, erecting the magical ward seemed to be costing Doumon a great deal of energy-loss. She was sweating profusely, while still standing in a meditative stance. Her arms were shaking, as were her legs. Rosemon looked at her newfound (or old...) friend worriedly.

"Doumon, gal... let meh outta here. Ah'll fight these wretched varmints!"

"No, Rosemon. Simply defending ourselves is our only chance right now."

Two MetalPhantomons were continuously attacking the magical ward with their pickaxes. They slammed the energy blades of the pickaxes, and every time they did that the barrier flickered but remained erected. However with Doumon now getting exhausted, there was no telling how long the barrier would last. The other MetalPhantomons readied themselves to destroy Rosemon and Doumon as soon as the ward gave away.

Nobody however, noticed three columns of light coming from the sky, landing on the roof of the tallest building near them.

The columns shifted into Davis and Veemon, Kari and Gatomon, and lastly Ken and Wormmon. It appeared that while on their trip to the Digital World, Demiveemon and Minomon both automatically became their rookie selves once more.

"Oh wow...there's a LOT of them down there!" Davis exclaimed. "We're gonna need the help of the full team this time around!"

"I'm betting that guy over there is the ringleader!" Gatomon declared, pointing towards a robed Digimon standing on a large book. "And look at those...ghost-like Digimon!"

"Who are they?" Kari wondered, and shuddered a little. The sight of the metallic specters gave her the creeps, as she was reminded of the time when she was eight, and a Phantomon had detained her to be presented to Myotismon.

Ken then launched the Digimon Analyzer to get a better look on their enemies.

**0010110100010 - DIGIMON ANALYZER – 1010101001011001010**

**Name** : Wisemon  
**Attribute** : Virus  
**Level** : Ultimate  
**Type** : Dark Wizard  
**Specialty** : Magic, Darkness

**Attacks **: Pandora's Dialogue, Eternal Nirvana  
**Power Level** : 71

Wisemon is hailed as a powerful wizard Digimon, having the ability to cast various types of spells using his Pandora's Dialogue, and to summon deadly elemental bolts with his Eternal Nirvana.

**011101010101010100101010101010101010101010110110100**

**0010110100010 - DIGIMON ANALYZER – 1010101001011001010**

**Name** : MetalPhantomon  
**Attribute** : Data  
**Level** : Ultimate  
**Type** : Cyborg  
**Specialty** : Metal, Darkness

**Attacks **: Soul Predator, Grave Scream  
**Power Level** : 65

MetalPhantomon is formed when a Phantomon is given raw data of machine-type Digimon, and is much deadlier than its virus-type counterpart.

**011101010101010100101010101010101010101010110110100**

"I don't like the odds of it," Gatomon said. "There are six MetalPhantomons, a Wisemon, and...I'm betting THAT'S that irritating Catrina that Hawkmon's been telling me about." She flexed her claws.

"That's her alright," Ken muttered darkly. "Man, she always has powerful allies siding with her."

Kari peered down and saw that Doumon was with somebody else. "Who's that with Doumon?"

**0010110100010 - DIGIMON ANALYZER – 1010101001011001010**

**Name** : Rosemon  
**Attribute** : Virus  
**Level** : Mega  
**Type** : Fairy  
**Specialty** : Nature, Flying

**Attacks **: Thorn Whip, Roses Rapier  
**Power Level** : 90

This is a viral counterpart of the normally data type Rosemon. She is able to manipulate her vines into a whip and a rapier with precise accuracy.

**011101010101010100101010101010101010101010110110100**

"Looks like she's on our side," said Davis. He noticed that Doumon's barrier was flickering – a sign of weakening of power. "We need to help them. Ready Veemon?"

"Ready!"

"Alright then, let's do it! Diginizer of Courage, ENERGIZE!

Both Davis and Veemon flared with blue lights coming out from the Diginizer of Courage. They both then merged and formed Paildramon. Paildramon, who stood four-times taller than both Kari and Ken, looked down. "Aren't you coming?" he asked.

Kari took out her D-Terminal. "Well, we're going to need help fighting this battle. I'm gonna inform TK and Yolei, and perhaps Tai and the others as well." She proceeded by quickly typing a message and sent it, before pocketing the device back into her pocket. Looking full of determination, she held out her Diginizer of Light, prompting the Transdigivolution of her and Gatomon into Angewomon.

Ken immediately followed suit and combined with Wormmon to become Dinobeemon. After that, the three of them loomed down towards where the MetalPhantomons were continuously harassing Doumon and Rosemon.

"Hey uglies! Why don'tcha leave those ladies alone and fight the big guys!" Paildramon shouted, gaining everyone's attention.

Angewomon cleared her throat unnecessarily. "Ahem..."

"And girl..." Paildramon added sheepishly. Dinobeemon let out a brief chuckle.

Catrina and Wisemon were annoyed with the sudden intrusion. Already recognizing the DigiDestined, Catrina looked for a certain Digimon she wanted to sink her claws into, but the said Digimon wasn't present. She groaned in frustration, and shouted, "Hey! Arrrren't therrre supposed to be SIX of you? Why arre only thrrree of you herrrre?"

"What's the matter? Did you miss them?" Dinobeemon inquired scathingly. Catrina looked at him, and cowered upon recognizing him. She was angered too, for Dinobeemon had just ashamed her in front of the other Digimon.

"Why you!" she said, fuming but didn't do anything.

"What say we close this dump?" Paildramon suggested, and took out his guns. He aimed them towards the MetalPhantomons. "Desperado Blaster!"

Dinobeemon nodded, and shouted, "Irritant Buzz!"

* * *

Angewomon swooped down towards Doumon and Rosemon, when the barrier suddenly flickered and disappeared. Doumon looked relieved, while Rosemon immediately took a stance in case anybody tried anything. Seeing Angewomon, Rosemon relaxed for she had heard of the DigiDestined and about their partners.

The female angel regarded Rosemon politely with a slight bow of the head before her eyes (though covered) averted to Gennai's sprawled form. Doumon followed her gaze and sighed.

"Gennai has fought bravely. Now, he needs treatment. We need to return him back to the laboratory where HolyAngemon can tend to his wounds. They are rather severe," she said solemnly.

"I'll take him there," Angewomon offered.

"Ya have any healin' powers?" Rosemon asked, and Angewomon was surprised upon hearing her thick accent. She'd never heard such accent before. She shook her head to answer Rosemon's question, causing the fairy to groan. "No? Never mind. Just take 'im and heal 'im real quick. We'll cover yer back!"

"I will," Angewomon said, and knelt beside Gennai. She scooped Gennai carefully from the ground with help from Rosemon, and cradled it as she flew straight up, heading towards Asuka Laboratory which was not very far away. She would be able to reach there quick enough for Gennai to be treated immediately. Upon setting sight on the wounds on Gennai's body, particularly on the chest, abdominal and extremities, Angewomon winced slightly and felt pity for the fallen warrior.

Suddenly Gennai stirred, nearly causing Angewomon to drop him. Luckily, as Angewomon, Kari was given more strength thus she was able to carry Gennai. Besides by flying she didn't really feel Gennai's weight, but it still deterred her at the slightest.

Gennai opened one bleary eye, revealing a famished looking azure orb. It set sight on Angewomon, and to the angel's slight amusement she heard Gennai muttered in confusion and with course voice, "Mom?"

"_He's delirious,"_ Gatomon declared, rather matter-of-factly than out of amusement.

"Gennai? It's Kari...err, Angewomon," Angewomon replied back, only to find that Gennai was out cold once more. She then tightened her grip on Gennai's body, fearing that she would drop him.

Then she saw the white visage of the laboratory and sighed in relief, glad to be able to make it there without any disruption. She'd expected Wisemon or Catrina to chase after her, but with Doumon and Rosemon around to cover her back Angewomon was sure that she was safe. She landed in front of the lab, surprising the two Knightmons on sentry. The Knightmons let her through and she entered, quickly announcing Gennai's serious condition to the Piximon-staffs. One of the Piximon alerted HolyAngemon, and with him around Angewomon felt that she was no longer needed at the lab, and returned back to the city to help the others fight Wisemon and his MetalPhantomons, and Catrina.

"Well what do you know...she didn't even say Hi to us!" Gomamon huffed.

* * *

Thirty-five minutes had passed since Cody last saw Davis, Ken and Kari leave the dojo. He wondered what was up. He saw how his friends received a message via the D-Terminals, and the frown they had after reading it. He wanted to know too, but as he was seated with the other contestants it was not possible for him to just walk towards the opposite side of the dojo and ask. Cody couldn't check his own, as he'd left his Diginizer and D-Terminal in his room. At the moment, he couldn't concentrate on the final pair, who was contending with each other for the final place to enter the quarterfinals.

The other seven winners currently qualified for the quarterfinals were:

Cody Hida.

Yugure Seito.

Seiji Fujisawa.

Setsuna Meiji.

Yamada Taro.

Koji Takahashi.

Kazuya Suzuki.

Cody looked over the current pair, and saw that they were in fact, Azuma Nakagawa and another boy who went by the name of Fujihito Naoki. Both contenders displayed impressive skills, but while Fujihito Naoki's skills were as good as the other winners, Azuma's were the ones who one could not help but to admire. Cody himself was awed, there were some moves which Azuma was using, which was part of the advanced basic techniques despite the preliminary round only require contenders to display the ten basic katana. The advanced techniques were actually modifications of the basic katanas, and so were included in the basics, thus making Azuma's movements legal.

Seeing how Fujihito was flustered with Azuma's movements, Cody knew who was going to win.

The buzzer signaling the end of the ten-minute routine for the pair then went off. The judges raised the score-sheets, and Cody saw that Azuma had received perfect tens from ALL the judges. "Winner: Azuma Nakagawa."

Azuma and Fujihito shook hands, but Cody couldn't help but notice the slightly smug look on Azuma's face when Fujihito wasn't looking. Fujihito then sat with the other contestants who weren't going for the quarterfinals, planning to stick around until the finals. Azuma then went and sat beside Cody.

"So, how did I do?" he asked, grinning while accepting a tower from another contestant. He then wiped the sweat on his face and neck.

"Impressive. I really admire the skills you've displayed," Cody answered truthfully.

Azuma looked pleased with the comment, and continued, "Did you know that those skills are part of the advanced ones?"

"As a matter of fact...I do. My sensei taught me about it too."

The look on Azuma's face faltered slightly, but he covered it quickly enough. "Well, then I hope we'll get to face each other. Maybe we can exchange a few pointers. See ya later then." He then stood and left Cody.

"Yeah, maybe," Cody agreed silently. His mind wasn't at the contest at the moment, seeing as how TK and Yolei had got up from their seat and strode amidst the crowd. Both looked like they didn't want to leave. Then the MC announced a twenty-minute intermission before the quarterfinals, and Cody used this chance to get to his two fellow DigiDestined.

TK saw the younger boy coming, and sighed. "I wish we could stay here, Cody, really...but Kari contacted us, and told us that it's very important."

"However, don't be bothered about it," Yolei said assuringly. "Whatever's at the Digital World, WE'LL take care of it. You just focus on the contest and on winning. The seniors are still going to stick around, but we haven't told them exactly what was happening."

"What did you tell them?" Cody asked curiously.

"Well...we told them that it's something that WE are going to take care of. Of course, Tai wants to follow but Koromon's still not strong enough to fight after the whole thing with Chaos Piedmon," explained Yolei, rolling her eyes slightly. "Besides it would look too overly conspicuous if we all leave together. So the seniors agreed to stay behind to lend support to Cody.

"Alright," Cody said dully. His green eyes then stared up at the older DigiDestined's eyes. "But if something's up..."

TK patted Cody's shoulder and grinned. "Oh, we'll know just who to call for."

"Best of luck, Cody," Yolei said, before she and TK left the dojo.

The buzzer perked up once more, signaling the beginning of the quarterfinals. The satchel was once again distributed to determine pairings for the quarterfinals. Cody was the last once to take the number, and as the MC drew the scheme of pairings on a nearby whiteboard, Cody looked around for the one he was being paired, and saw an athletic boy with a crew-cut. This was Kazuya Suzuki.

"Go, Cody!" shouted Mimi and Sora, both taking over Yolei's position as the ones cheering for Cody.

Cody sweatdropped. "Oh boy..."

* * *

/-/

/-/

**Author's Note:**

Well, this is one long chapter...possibly the longest chapter I've ever written for Vengeance, although I've written two chapters in Legends of the DigiDestined with the word-count exceeding 10,000. This chapter has around 9100 words, excluding the Author's Note. I plan on writing more for this chapter, but feel that it's enough for now.

Perhaps this update comes rather quicker than usual. I just want to say that I'm very happy that this fic has 100+ reviews now, after more than a year being featured on Fanfiction(dot)net, and start typing this chapter as soon as the counter reaches 100. :)

This chapter may not feature Cody that much, as the first half of takes place on Doumon meeting an old friend of hers. I don't know whether I've messed up the character 'Lilymon' or have written her decently... and her southern accent is something that I have in mind for a long time before introducing her. I kind of having the character Rogue from X-Men in mind when writing Lilymon, and the spellings I've used to denote Lilymon's accents are derived from X-Men fanfics which features Rogue, as I want to look on how authors write the way she speaks.

Cody however will become the main character in the next chapter, as it will be his time to shine. Of course, he has to make an important choice too.

**_Dark Qiviut_** – Momoe? No, no...It's Chizuru. Momoe's older than Tai, while Chizuru is the same age as him. This is a subplot that I think I will enjoy writing, as it's not a common coupling from what I've gathered. I'm really not in favor of introducing OC as the girlfriend, and Chizuru seems to be the only choice if I want to stick with pre-existing character. I like Taiora, but I accepted Sorato as the canon-couple as I want to be true to the TV-show.

As for the Dark Spore kids, do you mind if I use the surnames you've come up with for Keiko, Noriko and Takashi? Maybe I'll use Hiroshi's as well, I don't know yet because I've already given him a last name. However I can change it some time later, of course if you agree of lending me the names.

The sequel is currently pre-planned. I'm putting priority for Vengeance and Legends first, but maybe when Vengeance is finished and Legends is halfway done, I might start with the sequel. It may be a Tamers standalone, just to explain briefly of what's been happening at the Tamers world before I start writing the sequel. Some later chapters of Vengeance will contain clues of the goings on at the Tamers world, although it will not be a major plot line yet.

**_CustomMagnum_** – Thanks. Hmm, there's another fic using Tai/Chizuru coupling? More of his motivations will be apparent in time.

**_Jack the ripper_** – Cody has made it to the quarterfinals, but whether he'll win the whole tournament or whether he'll face Azuma Nakagawa that will be answered in the next chapter, although you can see how things are going now.

**_Bluesv20_** – Yes, Milleniumon has two stronger Mega modes – MoonMilleniumon, and ZeedMilleniumon.

**_Quinton Notwen_** – Looks like Cody and Armadillomon's ultimate form together has been a major question of interest for readers now. Milleniumon HAS something big in mind, which will be yet another plotline crossing with Chaos Specter's own intention. Catrina, as of yet, has no intention of raiding the Human World, but has taken yet another step ahead by bringing the MetalPhantomons and Wisemon to attack Asuka City. No, it hasn't been established too whether Chaos Specter can cross the borders between the Human World and the Digital World, although he surely can reach the other dimensions of the Digital World, which include the Tamers world although he never attempted that, the Frontiers world which was blocked from his reach, the Dark World, the Dream World, and five other smaller dimensions which I'm leaving them unexplained for the time being.

**_dark672_** – Thanks.

**_Digi fan_** – You're the 100th reviewer! Thank you. As for your question, just wait for the next chapter.

**_Yami Vizzini_** – Yes. His intention is, can I say... very complex. It will be explained briefly in time. I believe ZeedMilleniumon is the official spelling, as it is used in Megchan's Digimon Encyclopedia. I used XeedMilleniumon once, but a reviewer pointed out to me that it is actually Zeed. An explanation is present at ZeedMilleniumon's entry in the encyclopedia. Truth be told, I prefer XeedMilleniumon, but I'll stick with the official spelling. I wanted to make Azuma to just sound smug, but his real character will be shown on next chapter. And why really, do you think that the judge from Shinjuku's absence is suspicious? You're right though, but it's not his absence is suspicious, but rather...it's the one who's _taking_ his place. :P I'll say no more.


	34. Reliable Knowledge, Part III

_**VENGEANCE**_

_**Chapter 33 – Reliable Knowledge, Part III**_

/-/

/-/

Paildramon and Dinobeemon found themselves teaming up in facing the MetalPhantomon. Having fighting them for nearly half an hour, both DigiDestined grew weary over the fact that their metallic phantom opponents were stronger than what they had thought. Now standing back to back, they were currently surrounded by four of the cybernetic-enhanced specters.

"Man, these guys are tough!" Paildramon groaned irritably, aiming his guns towards the MetalPhantomon. "Desperado Blaster!"

The MetalPhantomon didn't even bother to move. They remained at where they were and took the attack heads-on. A brief explosion followed, and smokes erupted. However when the murky clouds had dissipated, to the DigiDestined' dismay their opponents weren't even hurt. Not even a scratch was seen on their gleaming, metallic bodies, nor was their capes suffered any damages.

"You can say that again," Dinobeemon muttered; a sign of tire evident in his voice.

"Have any ideas on how we're gonna beat these ghosts?" Paildramon asked.

"Nothing that I know of, and nothing that we haven't tried," Dinobeemon answered back.

At first, the battle did go on well on their side. Both of them were able to fend off the MetalPhantomon on a one-on-one fight. However they soon learned that the MetalPhantomons, despite having less power compared to them, were much more resilient in receiving their attacks compared to them.

"_I guess using the Irritant Buzz was out of the question too,"_ said Wormmon, from within Dinobeemon.

'Are you kidding me? Look at what they've done to me...us... when I did that,' Dinobeemon thought irritably.

When Dinobeemon had launched the piercingly high-pitched attack earlier, the MetalPhantomon had retaliated with a joint attack in a form of a loud gravely screams of the dead. The buzzes generated from Dinobeemon died away instantly, having been overwhelmed by their screams. Not only that, but the attack did some hefty damages on his body and orientation as well. For a while, Dinobeemon needed to stay back to re-orientate himself – resulting in Paildramon to face the six demons alone.

However, that didn't mean that Paildramon never stood a chance. In fact it was quite the contrary, in all actuality. The fiery hybrid dragon however proved to be a strong opponent as well. Despite certain setbacks, Paildramon possessed numerous ranges of attack thanks to the accumulated data of Exveemon and Stingmon within him. He was able to fight with both Champions' attacks as well as his own sets of techniques. In order to tackle a large number of enemies much more effectively, Paildramon decided to switch tactics.

"_Davis, let's use that Elemental Bolt technique like we used to back at Harmona!"_

"I'm right ahead of you, buddy."

Launching deadly bolts of fire, water, electricity and poison, Paildramon managed to blast off four MetalPhantomon out of the way. He couldn't hurt them, as by attacking more than one enemy his power was divided into the number of enemies he was facing. One MetalPhantomon had its cape burned while another seemed to be temporarily immobilized by the water bolt. Another seemed to be handling the electrical bolt without obvious damage while the fourth MetalPhantomon fell onto the ground, poisoned.

Dinobeemon nodded with satisfaction upon seeing his friend's strategy. "Good work, Davis. Those MetalPhantomon are metal-based Digimon...they're more susceptible to be electrocuted by water."

"_But how do you explain that one MetalPhantomon which got itself poisoned?"_ Wormmon inquired.

"Despite their metallic bodies, the MetalPhantomon are part-organic too."

"_Oh, yeah...that's right."_

"Anyway, I think we're ready to join in the battle again. The effect of their Grave Screams has worn off now. What do you say Wormmon?"

"_Ooh...Let's do it."_

As Dinobeemon flew towards the currently preoccupied Paildramon, who were facing off with the remaining two MetalPhantomon, he saw that Paildramon was in danger. The MetalPhantomon which wasn't affected with the electrical bolt was ready to deliver an attack from Paildramon's behind, and from the looks of it the hybrid Ultimate was unaware of it.

"Thinking of getting a cheap shot on my friend? Not a chance!" Dinobeemon yelled, and energized his Spiking Strike technique.

The said MetalPhantomon turned around with a hiss, hinting anger. It rose up its large pickaxe to counter Dinobeemon's glowing purple blade. The two attacks met with a loud clang, and pushed the two Ultimates away towards opposite directions. Dinobeemon was slammed onto a wall of the nearest building, causing a few cracks on it. The MetalPhantomon was thrown into a window of the opposite building, shattering the glass windows in the process. Several screaming ensued and Dinobeemon realized that there were Asuka civilians inside. Realizing that they were in danger, Dinobeemon quickly took off towards the opposite building and saw MetalPhantomon trying to get up on its usual vertical position. Several rookie and champion Digimon ran out from the building, which seemed to be a store selling some food products. However, there were still some Digimon remaining inside and Dinobeemon was afraid of them getting hurt. He then devised a way to lure the ghastly Cyborg away from the shop.

"Hey, you! I bet you're too slow to keep up with me!"

That did the trick. As Dinobeemon skidded away from the store, he saw that the MetalPhantomon had its sight on him. Using its pickaxe, the demon smashed the door to let itself out before chasing the insectoid warrior Digimon.

"Desperate time calls for desperate measures. I sure hope we're up to this Wormmon," Dinobeemon said, panting.

"_What do you have in mind, Ken?"_

"I'm thinking of using Stingmon's poison needles to stop this MetalPhantomon, with the effect **times three**."

"_I don't know about this Ken...the Moon Shooter requires A LOT of our energy. And you are planning to combine it with the Hell Masquerade technique which is also an energy-eating method. We'd de-digivolve back into you and me and are going to be prone to danger to the other MetalPhantomon. It's too risky."_

"It's a risk I'm willing to take Wormmon. If we didn't do anything, then this MetalPhantomon will have our necks."

Dinobeemon then turned around and generated two clones of himself. The two cloned Dinobeemon surrounded the MetalPhantomon and launched the Moon Shooter technique to poison it before dissipating into the air, because the needles technique required a high amount of energy on the main Dinobeemon. While not as deadly as when Dinobeemon or Stingmon alone delivering it, the Moon Shooter contained enough poison to give the MetalPhantomon a sense of being pricked by a thousand needles at a same time. The MetalPhantomon halted instantly, and Dinobeemon seized the chance to launch a final blow to finish it once and for all. Calling all of his depleting energy, Dinobeemon flew close to the poisoned demon and impaled the orb on its body with his blades. The MetalPhantomon shrieked in agonizing pain and combusted into a cloud of data particles, just as Dinobeemon shimmered with violet light before changing back into Ken and Wormmon.

"I knew it," Wormmon groaned. "What do we do now?"

Ken picked the rookie Digimon up. "Well, I guess we'll need to take cover for now."

Ken was about to run into the nearest building when he saw another MetalPhantomon, the one with the burnt cape, rose up from the ground. It retrieved its pickaxe which was lying nearby before having its eyes on Ken and Wormmon. With a hiss of anger and pleasure, the MetalPhantomon swept towards them with its weapon raised up. Ken sprinted off towards the food store where the earlier battle had taken place, but it looked like the demonic Cyborg was going to catch up with him. Closing his eyes, Ken leapt through the broken window of the store and rolled inside. However in the process Ken had rolled onto the broken glasses of the window, and had scratched himself on the back, arms and body. Wormmon wasn't any better himself; he too suffered from multiple scratches on his tiny body. At the time, it wasn't something that Ken and Wormmon would like to fuss about as danger was still looming. The MetalPhantomon had approached the broken window and its pickaxe flared with pale red aura.

"Soul Preda..."

Fortunately for Ken and Wormmon, the evil ghost didn't get to finish summoning the attack when an arrow of light pierced through the red orb on its body from behind. This was followed by two thin streaks of pink light which went through the orbits of the MetalPhantomon's skull. Letting out a shrill scream, the MetalPhantomon at once exploded into data bytes, and Ken was relieved to find himself staring onto the glowing figure of Angewomon.

"You ok, Ken?" Angewomon called, and with a flap of her eight wings she instantly was brought towards the broken window.

"I'm...fine, I think," Ken said, studying the cuts inflicted on him. He flinched as he felt a sense of pricking pain coming from the cuts. "Owww..."

Angewomon winced slightly as well as Ken began to wobble. She quickly grabbed the boy's hands before he landed on the broken glasses again.

"Are you sure?" she asked concernedly as she helped Ken and Wormmon out from the store. The female angel then studied the cuts and saw that a thin line of red was beginning to form on the cuts. "I think you should teleport to the lab and get that cuts healed. I've already called on HolyAngemon to attend to Gennai...maybe he can heal you as well."

"Ok..." Ken said weakly. He gathered Wormmon and pressed the teleportation button on his Diginizer. With a streak of violet light, the duo vanished.

Satisfied, Angewomon then turned around to look for Paildramon when she felt a huge mass being thrown onto her back. Breath escaped her momentarily as the hulking figure of Paildramon crashed onto her smaller stature. Disoriented from the blow, Angewomon was pushed by Paildramon's weight onto the road and was in a danger of being crushed to death by the massive dragon warrior.

Fortunately Paildramon was going to do everything he could in order NOT to let that happen. Quickly drawing his blades out from his gauntlets, he impaled the brick roads with them to stop him from falling onto his dear friend. The blades were pushed deeper onto the ground, and Paildramon's massive body was merely an inch away from crushing Angewomon.

"That was too close!" Paildramon sighed.

"I'd say!" Angewomon groaned. "Now move aside, please."

Paildramon obliged and was about to do so, when he noticed something was wrong when he tried to retract his blades back. He was having a difficulty in trying to do so. "Uh oh... Kari, the blades are stuck! They won't budge. I can't pull'em back!"

"What?" Angewomon nearly shrieked as she tried to get herself up, only to be knocked back down by Paildramon's armor. "Owww..."

Suddenly a loud zapping sound ensued followed by what sounded like a fabric-slashing sound, except that the thing that was cut seemed to be thicker than a mere fabric. Paildramon then shouted painfully and his whole large stature glowed with blue light before he changed back into his composite selves and landed onto Angewomon, thus knocking her down once more. Veemon had landed on her spread-out right wings, immobilizing the angel slightly. And unfortunately for Davis, he found himself landing onto a very compromising position.

"Davis...move aside... NOW!" Angewomon muttered, in what sounded like a mix of anger and embarrassment.

Davis had landed exactly onto Angewomon's body, and had his face buried on her budded chest. Angewomon's face was flushed out of embarrassment. She tried to push Davis away from her when the boy didn't comply with her wish, only to find the boy was knocked out unconscious. She glanced aside and saw that Veemon had suffered the same fate as well.

"Davis?" Angewomon choked out, her anger gone but the flush on her face remained. She was now more worried than angry.

"_He's knocked out cold...although whether as the result of the blow he'd gotten OR because he'd landed on us, who knows?" _Gatomon remarked cynically.

"He was attacked?" Angewomon gasped, and quickly looked up.

Hovering about ten meters above her was two MetalPhantomon, both in a position as if they had struck on someone, with their pickaxes-wielding arms pointing downward. They were the ones Paildramon had taken on after he had injured another four with his Elemental Bolt. The two demons then loomed down on her with their weapons ready to strike on her.

"Soul Predator!"

Angewomon immediately gathered Davis and Veemon and did a back-flip, successfully evading the attacks as they blasted the road instead of her. Rubbles, brick chips and sands blown over towards the female angel, and she had to cover herself, Davis and Veemon with her wings, which furled in front of her acting as a shield. Then those heavenly wings spread out over the air once more, enabling Angewomon to fly away to evade the MetalPhantomons. Unfortunately for her, with her arms full she couldn't come up with a counter attack, and was seriously in a life-threatening condition.

"I really need help here," she whispered helplessly as she soared towards the sky slowly. The MetalPhantomons gave chase, but something caught Angewomon's sight. A brief flicker of smile formed on her lips.

In what suited to be called as a perfect timing, Angewomon saw red and orange-yellow beams of light struck on the two MetalPhantomons from the sky above and behind them. The demons were sent crashing onto the ground, albeit not deleted but both had their capes singed by the beams. Angewomon looked up and saw the hovering figures of Sylphimon and MagnaAngemon coming her way.

"Kari! You alright?" MagnaAngemon asked, and his lips thinned when he saw what Angewomon was carrying. "What happened to them?"

"It looks like they're knocked out cold," Sylphimon noted, and looked around. She grimaced. "Hey, where's Ken? And... oh, no! NOT HER AGAIN!"

Turning their attention towards where the sylph hybrid was looking at, both angels saw that she had spotted Catrina, who at the moment was joining forces with a Digimon neither of them recognized to fight Doumon and a flowery woman in purple leotard. The fight between the four of them was intense, with Doumon and the rose-endowed woman teaming up fighting the robed Digimon while brushing away the catwoman. Sylphimon had to grin slightly; it seemed that it wasn't only her that hated Catrina with a passion.

MagnaAngemon reared up slightly, observing down below where the two MetalPhantomons he and Sylphimon had attacked were at. Near them were another two Digimon of the same types, unconscious while the ones they had attacked were simply disoriented from the attack. MagnaAngemon had used Angemon's Hand of Fate while Sylphimon chose her Top Gun to attack them.

"The four of them are injured right now. Kari and I can take care of this," MagnaAngemon said, looking at Sylphimon.

Sylphimon gave a thumbs-up. "Perfecto! Just leave that whiny catwoman to me," she said, in a somewhat vicious tone. Before MagnaAngemon could inquire even further the sylph immediately took off towards where Catrina was.

"What's with Yolei?" MagnaAngemon asked Angewomon. "She seems to have issues with that...cat lady."

The female angel shrugged. "Long story; I'll fill you in later. Right now...TK, you carry them."

MagnaAngemon obliged and took Davis and Veemon on his arms, and when they were close he noticed the faint flush on Angewomon's cheek. However before he could point that out, Angewomon glared at him. Even though her eyes were concealed by the metallic helmet she was wearing, MagnaAngemon could feel the look Angewomon, or Kari, was giving him.

"Don't even ask."

MagnaAngemon winced slightly. "Wasn't going to." He then willed his upper silver wings to glow with multicolored myriad of light. The lights then bathed the unconscious forms of Davis and Veemon. Instantly they woke up, slightly in stupor.

"Woah...TK?"

The angel hybrid smiled. "Easy does it, Davis. You and Veemon are going to the lab now. You'll thank me later." Before Davis could protest, MagnaAngemon calmly pressed the teleportation button on Davis's Diginizer and in a streak of two blue lights the duo of Courage was gone.

Loud hissing sounds were heard from the road down, catching MagnaAngemon and Angewomon's attentions. Looking down, they saw that the two formerly unconscious MetalPhantomon were stirring. They were gradually regaining their consciousness. The two which were attacked by MagnaAngemon and Angewomon hovered close to their comrades, watching as the fallen two orientating themselves.

Angewomon looked at MagnaAngemon. "We have to stop them!"

MagnaAngemon nodded. "One Gate of Destiny should do the trick." He then descended towards the MetalPhantomon and raised his glowing purple blade upward before drawing out the heavenly gate out of thin air. The golden doors of the gate formed and opened, revealing the glowing cosmos inside. The four MetalPhantomon were instantly pulled by the force inside the gate.

However the MetalPhantomon weren't going to go silently. Immediately they pulled themselves together and slashed their pickaxes towards the gate's direction. Streaks of crimson-shaped red energy were released from the four pickaxes and hit the circular gate on four strategic sites: the uppermost part, the left and right part, and the bottommost part. To the angels' shock, the gate for the first time, collapsed backward and burst into data particles.

MagnaAngemon gaped at the sight. "What! Even Piedmon and Black Wargreymon couldn't resist the Gate of Destiny! How could they...?"

Patamon's voice whimpered from within the archangel's head. _"I can't believe the gate didn't work. Looks like we have to attack him using force."_

"I don't like the sounds of that. The Gate of Destiny is supposed to be our forte," MagnaAngemon groaned.

Suddenly, the silvery wings of MagnaAngemon glowed with a myriad of light, in the same manner as if he was calling forth his Magna Antidote technique. However, the lights soon engulfed his body and out of instinct, MagnaAngemon began to take a meditative stance. His right arm was placed close to his chest, and the fingers were balled up in a fist except for the middle and the index fingers which stood up. His left arm was raised high and the fingers were in the same manner as the right one. The purple blade on MagnaAngemon's right arm and the purple shield on his left arm then combusted into data, and the particles surrounded the male angel and turned the multicolored aura around the male angel into a shiny gold one.

Angewomon looked down at MagnaAngemon with a feeling of awe. "What's going on?"

Gatomon replied, _"I...I think we're about to see a very interesting demonstration of power now Kari. Better keep a close watch on MagnaAngemon; I think he'd end up being like Dinobeemon back then."_

"He's going to use a lot of power?"

"_Bingo. Uh oh, Kari... stop that MetalPhantomon!"_

Angewomon saw the four MetalPhantomon trying to attack MagnaAngemon. Two were at the front, while the other two provided the rear. All had their weapons which were flaring with sinister red lights raised. Angewomon quickly fired two jets of pink light from her fingers, halting the four demonic Digimon from approaching MagnaAngemon.

The distraction provided MagnaAngemon with the perfect opportunity to launch his new attack. He then crossed his arms against his chest, his middle and index fingers still erected. His arms glowed with bright golden light and a ray of intense golden light erupted from them, heading straight towards the four MetalPhantomon before engulfing them with its sheer brilliance.

"**Soul Banisher!" **

When the light had dissipated, Angewomon saw that the bodies of the two MetalPhantomon closer to MagnaAngemon became nothing more than glowing yellow silhouettes while still retaining the original shape, while the other two were pushed back towards a brick wall. Then the yellow silhouettes exploded into a shower of bright light, and after the light had dissipated there was no trace of them. Nothing; not even a miniscule data particle. Usually when a Digimon was deleted it would combust into data particles, but this was not the case with the two MetalPhantomon. They had practically exploded into nothingness, with not a single speck of data particle resulted from their deletion.

After the whole ordeal, MagnaAngemon collapsed weakly onto the road and reverted back into an unconscious TK and Tokomon, Patamon's in-training form. Angewomon quickly swooped down to retrieve the knocked out duo of Hope to inspect them.

"They're out cold," Angewomon muttered quietly. "Why am I getting the feeling that I'm the one who have to watch out for these boys?"

She quickly used TK's Diginizer to transport the duo back to the safety of Asuka Laboratory for them to receive treatment. She then watched as the remaining two MetalPhantomon seemed to be struggling to get back up. MagnaAngemon had already weakened them greatly, judging by the demons' sluggish mannerisms. She now had the chance to finish them off once and for all to avoid any more trouble with the demons. Clasping her hands together, Angewomon said firmly,

"Heaven's Charm!"

* * *

Things weren't always what it seemed. That was a phrase Cody found so true, when he competed against Kazuya Suzuki in the quarterfinals.

His opponent had looked opposing, but during the first three minutes in their battle against each other Cody noticed that Kazuya's techniques, while being performed excellently, were pretty much in a same sequence as the ones he'd used in the preliminary round. Cody had watched all the rounds in the preliminary attentively in order to get to know how skillful the others were. Kazuya had superb skill, but his movements were predictable. As long as one took notice on how he moved, it would be easy for one to make a guess on how Kazuya would do next.

Thus, Cody won the quarterfinals against Kazuya and was qualified for the semifinals. The judges had merited him with an 8-9-10 score.

However as the other three pairs competed Cody found that it was harder for him to concentrate. He found himself thinking a lot about what was happening at the Digital World. He felt uneasy. Occasionally he'd shot some glances towards the older DigiDestined but they would only either wave back at him encouragingly or didn't catch Cody's look.

Time seemed to lapse quickly, and before he knew it Yugure Seito joined him on the seat.

"I can't believe that I've won!" the black-haired boy exclaimed excitedly. "Did you see me fight that big guy Koji Takahashi? How'd you think I do? The judges have given me a 7-8-9 mark, but I wanna know your opinion."

Cody's brows furrowed slightly as he tried to think of what to say. He didn't even watch Yugure's match; how would he answer to him without having to resort to a lie? He didn't want to hurt Yugure's feeling, but he didn't want to lie to Yugure either.

However, it was at that time as well when a familiar voice interrupted his train of thoughts.

"I don't think that he watched your match. His mark has been better than yours these two rounds, so why'd he bother? I know _I_ didn't."

Cody recognized that voice anywhere. However he was surprised to hear Yugure groaning with what sounded like anger.

"Nakagawa," the dark haired boy spat.

Azuma Nakagawa grinned haughtily. "Well, fancy meeting you here Yugure. I'm surprised you've lasted this far. Last year you didn't even qualify for the quarterfinals. You must have been practicing a lot... although I don't think that you've improved that much."

"I don't see that attitude of yours is improving either, Nakagawa," Yugure shot back calmly. "Winning last year's trophy must've elevated your ego."

Azuma's grin faltered slightly. "Sounds like somebody are jealous. Well..." he turned to face Cody. "...Cody, why didn't you answer what Yugure asked you just now. I know he's just _dying_ to hear your opinion. That is, if you _did_ see how he did." He ended it with a sarcastic laugh.

Yugure looked at Cody and saw that the green-eyed boy was silent during their exchange. The look of hesitation Cody had on his face pretty much answered what Azuma was implying: Cody didn't see his match, but didn't want to hurt his feelings by admitting that out loud, especially in front of Azuma. He decided to reply to Azuma's question in order to alleviate the burden from Cody.

"It doesn't really matter, Nakagawa, whether Cody had seen it or not. What matters is that I did the best I can."

Azuma snorted. "Well, if that's the best you can come up with, Yugure, I'm afraid you won't last until the finals."

"Like I said, it doesn't matter. To me, I can only fail if I don't try," said Yugure evenly.

"We'll see whether you can say that after I or the other contestant beat you," Azuma retorted, and walked away as the winner for the third pair was announced (Setsuna Meiji) and Azuma's name was called to face a contestant who went by the name of Seiji Fujisawa.

Cody was impressed with Yugure's brief speech. "Did you really mean what you've said? I have to admit that I'm impressed. My grandpa taught me that too, that winning isn't really everything."

"Yeah, my sensei taught me that too," Yugure said with a smile. "He told me countless times that what matters most is that I did my best. It's the feeling inside that count, and I'm content if I lose to other contestant, provided that I've given my best shot."

Cody took this in with a nod. Then remembering that he still didn't answer Yugure's question, he quickly told the taller boy, "Yugure... I have to admit that I didn't see how you go against Koji Takahashi. I'm sorry. It's just that... I've a lot of things in my mind."

Yugure shrugged. "There's nothing to be sorry for, Cody. You didn't lie to me. Anyway, I kinda noticed that your friends have left the dojo in quite a rush. First there were that 'The Rocket' Ken Ichijouji and the brown-haired cute girl and that tan boy with goggles. Then the tall blonde boy and the violet-haired girl followed. I take it they are your friends?"

"Yes."

"Well, I don't want to pry or anything, but how'd you know Ken Ichijouji? He doesn't even live around Odaiba from what I've heard."

"It's a long story and we didn't exactly have a good start with each other... but we're friends now, and a team."

Yugure smiled a somewhat knowing smile. "Hmm... I noticed that they're carrying some weird plush-toys with them. And the cute girl had a bigger white cat with her. I think I get it. Are they... Digimon?"

Cody was somewhat slightly taken aback by this, but calmed instantly. After all, with all the events happened between the previous year's Christmas Day and New Year, the public generally knew about Digimon. Appearances of Digimon in the human world were rare since the New Year, with some sightings merely saying about somebody being partnered with a Digimon. This however didn't really make headlines on newspapers and televisions the same way as the invasion of Daemon's era or the intrusions of Digimon on various parts of the world.

Yugure continued, "They are those what they called...DigiDestined, right? Chosen children being partnered with Digimon?"

"How did you know this?" Cody inquired, his eyes looking for any signs of how Yugure was accepting Digimon. He didn't see any sign of hatred or ill-intention present in Yugure's eyes and since the boy seemed to know a lot about Digimon, Cody thought that it would be alright.

"Yes, they are. And I'm one too."

Yugure brightened immediately. "Really? Wow...that's cool. I wish I'm one too. My cousin back at Saitama, I think he's a DigiDestined too. He used to stay here at Odaiba, but after this year's New Year his family decided to move to Saitama." Yugure then leaned close to Cody. "You see, he was kidnapped by this really creepy man and two Digimon last year... I forgot what their names are. He and many others were brought to this world by the man, and then to this Digital World where he said the older DigiDestined, as well as the DigiDestined from all around the world were present to fight a Digimon they called...what, I forgot... it's Malo or mayo-something... Anyway I think my aunt and uncle freaked out over my cousin's being kidnapped and immediately decided to relocate."

Cody was surprised to hear this. Yugure's cousin had been one of the children kidnapped by Yukio Oikawa to be used as reservoirs for his Dark Spores. All the children eventually became DigiDestined after the battle with MaloMyotismon.

Yugure didn't notice Cody's lack of response and continued on, "So which Digimon did you get for a partner?"

Cody smiled. It seemed that Yugure didn't have a clue that Cody was one of the 'older DigiDestined' that Yugure or his cousin had described. For now he decided to let this piece of information slip. He beckoned towards his mother over the audience's bench. "I have an Upamon for a partner... he's over there with my mother."

Yugure glanced and saw Upamon sitting quietly on Minako Hida's lap. "Cool. So... can he...uhh, _digi-evolve_ to another Digimon?"

"You really do know a lot about Digimon now do you," Cody said. "Anyway, Upamon can _digivolve_ to Armadillomon..." Cody was unsure of whether to say that Armadillomon could digivolve even further to Ankylomon, Digmon and Submarimon, and that Ankylomon and Angemon once could DNA digivolve into the ultimate-level Shakkoumon.

"That's awesome," Yugure said with awe. "My cousin... his name is Hajime, by the way... he first brought over a tiny white Digimon called SnowBotamon to my place when he came over during a weekend after they've moved to Saitama. We played with it and then the next thing we knew, SnowBotamon got bigger and became Nyaromon. The last thing I know from his e-mail is that Nyaromon has digivolved again to become a Salamon...or something."

Cody remembered seeing Gatomon becoming Salamon a few times and nodded. Over the background, more clapping ensued and both Cody and Yugure realized that Azuma's match with Seiji Fujisawa had ended. Azuma had won with a near-perfect score, with a nine from the youngest judge.

Yugure saw how Azuma had a smug look on his face, while Seiji Fujisawa merely retreated back to the bench where Koji Takahashi, Kazuya Suzuki and Yamada Taro were seated. The winners for the quarterfinals were then announced and they were Cody Hida, Yugure Seito, Setsuna Meiji and Azuma Nakagawa.

Once more, the MC produced the four winners which would proceed to the semifinals with the satchel which would determine the pairs, which would only be two pairs. The four winners drew each a name and gave it to the MC. The MC then cleaned the whiteboard in order to write in the pairs.

Cody Hida **VS** Setsuna Meiji

Yugure Seito **VS** Azuma Nakagawa

"The semifinals will commence after a ten-minute interval," the MC announced before taking his seat near the judges.

Yugure groaned. "Oh man, I'm gonna go up against that _oh-I'm-the-best_ pompous Nakagawa?" He made mock-gagging moves, and Cody (and Setsuna Meiji from a distance) had to smile upon seeing Yugure's action. Azuma, who was leaning against a pillar, had an un-amused look on his face but merely turned his head away.

As Yugure left him on his own to get a drink, Cody took the time to identify his new opponent, but it was Setsuna Meiji who decided to approach him first. She bowed politely when she was in front of Cody.

"Greetings, Cody Hida. I am glad to meet you."

Cody was surprised to hear the polite tone of Setsuna's voice. Cody was polite himself, but Setsuna seemed to have surpassed him when politeness was concerned. Cody saw how the girl (who was the only girl contestant) demonstrated her skills in the preliminaries and knew that Setsuna was quite an opponent. She seemed to possess an extra degree of gracefulness tipped in her kendo skills compared to the other contestants.

He bowed back and replied the greetings in pretty much the same way Setsuna had said before taking the time to identify the girl in front of him. Setsuna was a girl seemingly at Cody's age, but was an inch taller. She had long, brown hair tied back in a ponytail and light brown eyes.

"We will be opponents. I hope we can exchange a few pointers." She held up her hand towards Cody.

Cody accepted it. "Likewise... May I ask from which district you are from? I must have missed it when the MC announced it in the preliminaries."

Setsuna seemed troubled by this and Cody noticed that her eyes shifted slightly towards the judges before replying softly, yet sternly. "I'm from Shinjuku... and I would like to say that although Jonathan-san is also from Shinjuku and also one of a judge, I can say that there is no favoritism from his part."

Cody was slightly surprised by Setsuna's reply. "What makes you think that I'd think of that?"

"Nothing. It's just that I saw how you and your friend Yugure Seito responded when the first judge's name was called," Setsuna said simply.

"It was something that Azuma Nakagawa had said to me which stirred our thoughts from that possibility," Cody said defensively.

Setsuna smiled sincerely at this. "Well...I noticed _that_ too."

"Oh... and just so you know I've brushed that off," Cody said, and decided to change the topic. "So, did Jonathan-san teach you kendo?"

Setsuna's cheeks reddened slightly and her reply sounded somewhat bashful. "Actually, sensei Showa is my teacher, but Jonathan-san is sensei Showa's eldest disciple. Lately he's been sick; he's really old... so Jonathan-san has been taking over for him. And, Jonathan-san is the one who has registered and trained me for this tournament. Other than that, he is also my neighbor as he and his best friend live one floor below my apartment."

Cody nodded, and he did notice how Setsuna reacted. She had rambled a little, and seemed flustered. However he decided that it was not his business and dropped the thought off. Setsuna too seemed glad that Cody didn't ask even further and began taking a few deep breaths to calm herself.

The ten-minute interval was over and the MC took the microphone once more. He called for Cody and Setsuna to the hall and after a brief bow towards the two contestants he signaled for the semifinals to begin.

* * *

From the sky Sylphimon took the time first to observe the goings-on between the battling Digimon there. From her analyzer she now recognized the flowery woman who fought beside Doumon against Wisemon and Catrina was a Rosemon. Seeing how Doumon and Rosemon brushing off Catrina while focusing their attacks at Wisemon, Sylphimon decided to make the situation a lot easier for her allies.

"Hey, kitty-cat, did you miss me?"

Down below, Catrina suddenly heard a voice she hated with a passion. Her head snapped up instantly and saw a familiar figure. "You! Sylphimon...it's about time you decided to show up! Now I'm gonna make you pay forrr what you did to me last time."

This promptly stopped the battle between Doumon, Rosemon and Wisemon as they looked up to see Sylphimon.

"Oh, don't mind me Doumon. You and your friend go on with that...dark wizard _Lord Voldemort_ rip-off. I'll handle that annoying cat."

Catrina was profoundly annoyed of how Sylphimon had regarded her, while Doumon and Rosemon looked relieved. And curiously, so was Wisemon although he didn't make it obvious.

"Well that's more like it!" Rosemon said warmly. "Now Doumon and ah can handle Wisemon without any disruption."

Seething with fury, Catrina glowered at Wisemon. "Hey! Surely you have any spell that can make me fly? I rrreally would like to give that rrrotten sylph a piece of my mind."

Without replying Wisemon merely flicked his wrist towards the yellowing pages of his book, and generated a column of dark yellow light. An illusion of a long-haired woman clad in tattered dark leather appeared from within the column. The illusion, which seemed semi-solid at first, burst into data particles and Wisemon directed those data particles around Catrina.

Instantly behind Catrina, two large dark grey tattered wings sprouted out. Catrina was at first surprised, but soon realized that she could control the wings that were now on her back. Surprised, she stared at Wisemon.

"What did you do to me?"

Wisemon answered, "I've given you the data of a LadyDevimon. You now have access to her skills and capabilities, which include flying."

Catrina grimaced. "But these wings arrre ugly!"

Wisemon groaned and ignored her. He then turned the pages of his book and summoned spirits of the dead via an incantation imprinted on the pages. Catrina snorted and tried to use the wings of LadyDevimon bestowed upon her by Wisemon. To her surprise, it felt like a second nature to her. With one flap of her new (despite battered-looking) wings she rose from the ground and began to feel a new course of power surging inside her veins. Some new knowledge flooded her mind, telling her about some new powers and techniques. Smiling viciously at this, Catrina soared towards where Sylphimon was hovering.

"Hey! Get a load of my new powerrrs!" she shouted to a surprised Sylphimon. Her eyes turned crimson and two beams shot out from them. "**Poison**!"

The Poison was a technique of LadyDevimon's. Sylphimon was too surprised to see Catrina having new attack and barely managed to evade the two burning lasers shot out from Catrina's eyes. The lasers however managed to singe some of her hair though.

"So what do you have a new attack? You're still the same whiny poor excuse of a cat!" Sylphimon retorted angrily. She cupped her large hands forward and fired several dark pink ring-shaped blasts, which was an attack of Aquilamon. The Blast Ring technique was an effective ranged technique and quite a fast one to boot. Catrina hadn't had time to evade it and was hit squarely on the chest.

Choking slightly, Catrina groaned and crossed her arms in front of her chest. Black aura emitted around her as she spread her arms wide, releasing a swarm of bats towards Sylphimon. This was the Darkness Wave technique of LadyDevimon. The wave of bats swarmed around Sylphimon and pummeled all over her body, weakening her. Sylphimon began to limp in mid-air as the wave of bats faded. However, not thoroughly satisfied with this, Catrina then used her own Vampire Dance and released a wave of orange bats this time around to absorb Sylphimon's power. The bats bit Sylphimon all over her body and absorbed some of the remaining energy within the elemental sylph.

"Just what do you think about me now, Sylphimon?" Catrina boasted. "You'rrre no match for me. Last time you werrre lucky, but not this time. I'll finish you once and for all!"

"She's too strong!" Sylphimon gasped mentally. "What should we do, Hawkmon?"

Hawkmon was silent momentarily before replying, _"Here's what I have in mind. But it will require a lot of energy."_

"I'm all ears but better make it quick."

"_Then follow my instructions..."_

Sylphimon gathered her remaining energy quickly and evaded another wave of Catrina's new Darkness Wave by coating herself with a pink aura. Her aura burned off the bats, but that didn't stop there. She plummeted towards the Bastemon and released the Dual Sonic squarely on her opponent's face, breaking her concentration. Catrina was disoriented momentarily and Sylphimon's visor and the extended white ears coming from her visor glowed deep red before those ears morphed into Aquilamon's horns.

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" screamed Sylphimon; her horns now had the tips pointed forward. "Grand Horn!"

"ARRGH!" Catrina yelled, as Sylphimon rammed the horns viciously on her chest. Catrina however managed to save her own life by pulling herself backwards, thus avoiding the horns from sinking deep into her body. However damages had been done to her and the most superficial part of her skin was torn by the sharp tips of Sylphimon's horn. Blood began to trickle down towards her body, and Catrina was horrified. Angrily she swung both arms forward and slapped Sylphimon with all her might.

Shouting loudly Sylphimon was hurled away from her opponent. Her body felt weak after receiving the blows from Catrina and she began to feel like she was going to de-digivolve. She was in danger of being crashed into a tall building nearby if it weren't for somebody to catch her in midair. Turning around, Sylphimon saw her friend Angewomon.

"Gotcha!" said Angewomon. "That was some fight, Yolei."

"That'll...teach her not... to mess with me," Sylphimon replied back.

Angewomon then helped Sylphimon towards the ground. Looking up, she saw that Catrina was still hovering in mid-air. The catwoman and the angel stared towards each other momentarily, but Catrina seemed to realize that Angewomon had an advantage against her and decided not to pursue the fight any longer. She'd seen how Angewomon and MagnaAngemon tackled four MetalPhantomon at once, despite the MetalPhantomon being the ones with the advantages.

"We'll continue this anotherrrr day," she slurred slightly, her hands grasping her bleeding chest. With a wave of orange and black light she disappeared.

"Coward," muttered Sylphimon before she de-digivolved back into Yolei and Hawkmon. Both suffered some scratches and bruises, but their conditions were better than what TK, Ken, Davis and their partners had been inflicted.

"I think you better go to the lab and get some treatments on those scratches and bruises," Angewomon pointed out.

Yolei nodded, and teleported towards the lab along with her partner in a column of red light.

Angewomon then sighed, "Now it's only me I guess..."

Suddenly a loud whooshing sound ensued, and to her surprise a dark purple wave knocked her off her feet. She landed on her back onto the road and groaned slightly over the unexpected attack.

"Urghh...what happened?" she wondered.

"_The wave seemed to be coming from where that Wisemon is fighting Doumon and Rosemon,"_ Gatomon supplied.

Screaming sounds were heard and the next thing Angewomon knew, Doumon and a Lillymon clad in purple dress crashed near her. She immediately thought of the worst, and judging from their current state, Angewomon knew she wasn't wrong. Thinking quickly, Angewomon immediately flew up and charged an arrow of light when waves of howling dark spirits rammed against her body, making her fall onto the road once more.

"Not so fast, you feisty little angel," Wisemon said silkily, as he approached the three female Digimon via the hovering magical book he had. "You and your friends have deleted all my soldiers, and I am definitely not going to let you escape with it... even if your friends have escaped me. No matter; your death shall be the first, and the others will soon follow."

He summoned yet another dark wave, but this time around the wave was blocked by a barrier. Angewomon turned to her side and saw that Doumon, while still sprawled on the road, had raised an arm to generate the dome-shaped force-field around the three of them.

"We're back to square one!" Lilymon groaned.

* * *

Cody had to admit one thing; Setsuna was a very excellent kendoka. Throughout their match both had delivered all the basic thrust as well as some other advanced skills they've learned from their instructors. In the first two minutes of their round, Cody was seen to be hesitating to attack Setsuna because he didn't want to look like he was bullying a girl. However this gave Setsuna the advantage and scored her the first full point. Realizing this, Cody increased his guard and began to deliver some of the amazing stances he had practiced with his grandfather and evened up the score with a full point. The real match then kick-started and the audiences were treated with spectacular performances by two ten-year-olds kendokas, whose skills rivaled even the defending champion.

The MC then signaled for the end of ten minute time limit, and the judges began to accumulate the scores for the two contestants.

"For Cody Hida... the score will be..." the MC announced before pausing to wait for the judges to raise their score boards. "8-10-10!"

Thunderous clapping sounds erupted throughout the dojo before the MC raised his hand to stop the noise, as he was going to announce the score for Setsuna. "For Setsuna Meiji, her score is... 9-9-10!"

Cody was surprised. This meant that their accumulated scores would be...

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have a TIE!" the MC announced, and once more loud cheers and clapping erupted.

However then the noise died out as everyone tried to think of what solution the judges would come up with. After all there could not be three winners to advance to the finals. The judges discussed about this for a moment before calling for the MC to deliver their decision. The MC nodded and held up his microphone once more.

"The semifinals will now commence with our two last contestants: Azuma Nakagawa and Yugure Seito! And after their match, Cody Hida and Setsuna Meiji will be required to undergo a special round where they will be quizzed by the judges about theoretical and historical aspects on Kendo. And now, let the next match begin!"

* * *

Meanwhile at Asuka Laboratory, Gennai and the three male DigiDestined were currently receiving treatment from HolyAngemon. The angel was interrupted from his meditative cycle when Angewomon called for his help to treat Gennai earlier. Quickly he'd came up and tended to Gennai while Angewomon returned back to help the others fight. However as time passed, HolyAngemon was rather dismayed when one by one, the boys were transported and required treatment as well.

"It's just too bad that I have used a lot of my own power to restore all of you to an acceptable level of health, albeit rather imperfectly," HolyAngemon said. Truth be told, he did look a little bit paler than usual. "So now the four of you shall have to make do with the traditional ways of treatment...with medicines, ointments and bandages."

This elicited with some groans from the three teen boys, and surprisingly from Gennai too.

"Don't complain," said HolyAngemon sternly. "You, Gennai, SHOULD know better than trying to take on those MetalPhantomon on your own."

"It seemed to be the only best idea I had that time," Gennai replied back, and discarded his tattered outer beige robes and the inner black shirt he was wearing and pulled the black skin-tight trousers he was wearing up till knee level. HolyAngemon quickly did his work and disinfected all the lacerations and wounds on Gennai's body and extremities before applying some bandages on appropriate areas. At the same time he seemed to be muttering something about foolhardy warrior trying to play hero, much to Gennai and the DigiDestined's amusement.

Turning around, he was pleasantly surprised to see that Davis, Ken and TK were already treating their wounds themselves. They followed HolyAngemon's example by disinfecting their wounds. Davis then helped Ken applying the bandages on the parts where Ken was cut by the broken glasses. Luckily HolyAngemon's power had extracted any dangerous glass particles from the wounds earlier and all he needed to do now was to clean up the cuts. Davis and TK both were unconscious before they could really been inflicted some bodily harm. In Davis's case he complained of feeling an excruciating pain on his back, but this was the result of having his wings ripped away while being Paildramon. There was no evident of any harm on his body when Ken and TK inspected his back. TK too didn't suffer any bodily damage as he was knocked out due to the fact that he had pushed himself to the limit.

Their Digimon, Veemon, Wormmon and Tokomon, were in the same condition as their partners were. Interestingly enough, they followed their partners' example and treated each other's wound.

It was at that moment when Yolei and Hawkmon teleported in, and both fell onto the platform of the teleportation machine, unconscious. The Piximon working inside the lab quickly carried Hawkmon to the medical table, while HolyAngemon carried Yolei and placed her beside Gennai. She didn't seem to suffer any cuts or wounds, judging by the fact that her clothes were still in perfect condition. However there was a large red mark on her cheek, as if she had been given a forceful slap earlier.

"Looks like she and Catrina have been fighting again," Gennai remarked, and tried to move aside. However, HolyAngemon pushed him back down.

"Don't you move; she will be alright," HolyAngemon said evenly. "Maybe another dose of my healing power..." As he said this he extended his right index finger towards Yolei and Hawkmon. A small white wave of energy came out from the finger and bathed Yolei and Hawkmon in it. With a loud gasp both of them opened their eyes and blinked momentarily, trying to take in their surroundings.

Yolei then turned to her side, and met a barely-clothed Gennai with bandages wrapping his abdomen, shoulders, left chest, arms and both shins. The violet haired girl had a confused and horrified look on her face.

"Uh...hi?" Gennai asked with a hesitated smile. "I know this look...inappropriate, but..."

Gennai couldn't however finish his words because Yolei then blushed furiously, gasped, and fainted once more.

"I knew something like this would happen," Gennai said wistfully. For a moment, his blue eyes had a far-away look before he shrugged it off.

Ken blushed slightly too while Davis and TK had to suppress their laughter. Hawkmon shook his head slightly and jumped down from the large medical table, which was enough to provide space for three persons to lie on. The DigiDestined then sat on the cushions at the corner of the lab.

"She'll be fine, and Gennai, don't make a single movement lest you will hurt yourself even more," HolyAngemon said aloofly, as if nothing had happened.

"Ok, ok... I got it," Gennai replied.

The alarms of the lab blared again. Tentomon and Gomamon quickly went to them and told the DigiDestined of what had happened.

"Angewomon, Doumon and Lilymon are in danger! That wizard is going to cream them!" Gomamon said.

"Oh no!" Both Davis and TK cried at once. "Kari!"

"Davis, TK, sit back down. You can't save her unless you're in perfect health," HolyAngemon said calmly. "I can't too, as I've used a lot of my powers during my meditation and what's left to heal the more serious wounds you have inflicted on yourself."

"What do we do? We can't go back like this..." Ken said sadly.

"You will call on Cody," said HolyAngemon.

"What! No!" Davis objected. "He's got a tournament he needs to win."

"Yeah! Armadillomon told me that Cody really wants to join this. He's been practicing and practicing everyday. Armadillomon really thinks that he's gonna win!" Tokomon chirped earnestly.

"Yeah, I agree," Ken supported. "We don't want to interrupt him from his kendo tournament. He really wants to join this since last month, and it wouldn't be fair to stop him from at least competing in the finals."

TK had a thoughtful look on his face. "I don't want to interrupt Cody too, but...I did promise to call on him when we really need his help."

Davis and Ken both frowned upon hearing TK's promise to the youngest member of the team.

"It is imperative now that you call on Cody to assist Angewomon, Doumon and Lilymon against Wisemon," HolyAngemon said. "They really need help, and young Cody may be the one healthy enough to be of assistance."

"But...he can't Transdigivolve yet! It's dangerous for him to go there," TK protested weakly. "Ankylomon may be strong...but can he really go up against a dark wizard Digimon?"

"Whether he will come here or not, that alone will be his decision," HolyAngemon pressed on sternly. "You need to keep your promise and inform him of what happened. And have faith in him."

TK looked at Davis and Ken, then at HolyAngemon and Gennai, before at the Digimon. Sighing he took out his D-Terminal and begun typing his message.

"Hey, why don't you let me type the message for ya?" Gomamon offered with a cheeky smile.

Tentomon clubbed Gomamon's head with both pincers in response. "Now's not the time for your antics, Gomamon!"

* * *

After the MC announced that Azuma and Yugure would be fighting, Cody then was reminded that his fellow DigiDestined friend had not contacted him yet. But then, he groaned as he realized that he'd left his D-Terminal and Diginizer of Knowledge back at his apartment. He stood and began to head towards the dojo's door when a feminine voice stopped him.

"Just where do you think you're going?" Setsuna inquired. "After ten minutes, the judges will want to test us... if you've forgotten."

"I just realized that I have left something back upstairs, at my house," Cody replied truthfully.

"Are you going to do some last minute studying?"

"Not really...there's not much time left."

Setsuna then smiled. "Well, the judges didn't say anything about that not being allowed. I guess I'll see you later then."

Cody nodded and walked out from the door. He sprinted up the stairs and was glad that he knew where the extra set of keys was hidden. Retrieving it under the shoe cabinet he quickly unlocked the door and rushed to his room when he heard a beeping sound. His heart sunk when he realized that he was really needed.

"_Cody, sorry to bother you like this but you're really needed to help Kari, Doumon and a mega Digimon called Rosemon fighting Wisemon. The rest of us and Gennai have been injured and can't help out anymore. I hope everything goes well for the Kendo tournament. – Signed, TK."_

"Wisemon?" Cody thought out loud. Then he remembered something. "Oh, no! Upamon's still at the dojo."

He pocketed his Diginizer and D-Terminal and made a dash towards the door once more, nearly knocking over somebody who had just entered the door. Cody briefly registered the medium-height redhead teenager in front of him who was holding a video-camera with one hand, while a creamy puffball with the other.

"Izzy?"

Izzy smiled. "I saw you rushing out from the dojo and I thought you might need this." He handed Cody the creamy puffball, which happened to be...

"Upamon!" Cody said gladly and took him from Izzy's hand.

"So what's the rush?" Izzy asked.

Cody quickly explained what TK had told him via the D-Terminal. Izzy thought for a moment before an idea came to him.

"I know. Why don't Joe and I go to the Digital World in your place? Tentomon and Gomamon are still at the lab."

Cody shook his head. "I don't think that's a good idea. This Wisemon, he's even stronger than two Ultimates and one Mega. Kabuterimon and Ikkakumon won't stand a chance either. Davis, Ken and Kari are already powerful when they merge with Veemon, Wormmon and Gatomon...but still they needed TK and Yolei's help. Yet they are still defeated, meaning that this Wisemon really is an opponent to be reckoned with. Besides, although I don't know whether Ankylomon can match his strength...I feel, like I need to this on my own."

"Yeah, and maybe we'll get to Transdigivolve and beat this bad guy for good!" Upamon chirped exuberantly.

"Are you doing this because you're feeling left out?" Izzy asked the younger boy carefully. "I mean, the others have already Transdigivolved while..."

"Of course not; that's not my reason at all," Cody replied quickly. "I just feel...that I was the one who's supposed to face Wisemon."

Izzy smiled. "It's ironic, now that I think of it. Perhaps you're needed after all. Although it's just a theory..."

"What?" Cody asked, dumbfounded.

"Your enemy is Wisemon; as in, a wise monster. You are the new DigiDestined of Knowledge. It's only fitting if a wise Digimon is beaten by the bearer of knowledge," Izzy clarified. His successor nodded and he continued, "I'm a DigiDestined of Knowledge too... but now that I think of it, this is _your_ call..."

Cody nodded, but Izzy wasn't finished. "But what about the tournament? From what I heard you really want to partake in it as well. And in my opinion you really have a chance to win."

Cody considered his options. His eyes dropped down. "I admit I really want to try and win this tournament, but as a DigiDestined I have another greater duty waiting. Besides, I think your explanation is plausible. As for the tournament...I guess there's always next year for me to join in."

"In that case, I wish you all the best, Cody. I'll try to explain to the judges about your sudden absence, and try to ask whether they can hold things up for you when you get back."

Cody brightened a little. "Thanks Izzy."

He and Upamon then pressed the Digi-Port button on the Diginizer and vanished in a column of yellow light.

* * *

"I tire of this game, priestess," said Wisemon scathingly. "You really don't think you can stay in there forever now do you?"

"I will erect this barrier for as long as it needed," Doumon replied.

"Although you've done a good job protecting yourself and your friends, but alas; all good things must come to an end. And I personally would love to be the one to end it for you."

"I am not giving up to the likes of you, Wisemon."

"So be it. Eternal Nirvana!"

Doumon immediately used more power to increase the strength of her barrier. The elemental bolts crashed onto the force-field and shook it greatly. Inside, it was like an earthquake as it rumbled, causing Lilymon and Angewomon to tumble down onto the roads. Doumon stood still, but it was clear that she was tiring. Her body shook and sweat dripped down her fine fur. Her brows furrowed close as her eyes reflected her firm determination.

"Too bad ah don't have mah rejuvenatin' potion anymore," Lilymon grumbled as she stood up. "...Ah should've brought along more with meh."

Angewomon observed Doumon and saw that the priestess' barrier won't last much longer as Wisemon continued to blast his elemental bolts onto it. She made up her mind to come out from the barrier and fight Wisemon. Lilymon's grumbling gave her an idea.

"More?" she asked the pixie. "You mean there's more?"

"Yeah, back at mah shop. Why?"

"Listen. Do you think you can go and get more for yourself, Doumon, and me? I can cover you."

"Ah think ah can do it. But it's gonna be risky. Ah bet that Wisemon won't be havin' any of it. But ah'll do it."

"Great. Ok...on three," Angewomon said, and readied her arrow. "One... two..."

"Three!" Lilymon shouted and flew out from the barrier. Wisemon immediately saw this and attempted to hurl a few elemental bolts onto her direction.

"I don't think so!" Another feminine voice interrupted Wisemon's concentration. An arrow of light shot onto his hand, and the elemental bolts faded into nothingness. Wisemon gasped as he shook his shot hand in a hasty attempt to elevate the pain. He turned up to see Angewomon hovering impressively ten meters above him.

"Excellent technique," he said. "Too bad you're not going to live long to remember it by. Pandora's Dialog!"

A column of red light emerged from his book and a swarm of bat came forth from it. This was followed by several streaks of what looked like a crimson whiplash, which struck onto Angewomon numerous times. Before she could evade the pure-energy whiplash the bats that were generated by Wisemon's spell-book overwhelmed her.

"_I've experienced this before!" _Gatomon gasped frightfully. _"These are Myotismon's techniques: the Grisly Wing and the Crimson Lightning!"_

"No..." Angewomon said weakly before plummeting down onto the ground. The brutal lashings she'd gotten from Wisemon weakened her greatly. A pink glimmer of light flashed from her body and when the light was gone Angewomon was no more. On her place were a very weak and injured Kari and an angry (yet unhurt) Gatomon.

"How dare you!" Gatomon hissed angrily towards Wisemon. She was infuriated over the fact that Wisemon had forced her to relive her bad memories while still being under Myotismon's servitude. And now, Kari had experienced it as well, although not to the extent of what Gatomon had gotten.

"Oh, little kitty wants to play?" Wisemon taunted.

"You asked for it!" Gatomon shouted. She then turned to Doumon. "Doumon...can you...huh?"

Gatomon's confusion was caused by a sudden earthquake. The ground rumbled and buildings shook. The white cat immediately retrieved her weakened partner and jumped back into Doumon's shield. She landed on her feet, as normally cats did, but Kari's weight then tumbled on her and she fell face-first onto the ground.

"Sorry... Gatomon..." Kari said weakly, and passed out.

Wisemon was clearly baffled as well of the sudden occurrence. He didn't expect it, but immediately assumed that it was the work of another DigiDestined who would stand in his way. His suspicion was answered when a large yellow behemoth appeared from the far end of the city. The colossal being that was causing the earthquake gradually approached him, and soon Wisemon could make out its feature. He recognized it instantly as an Ankylomon, and with his sharp vision he could see that the Ankylomon was carrying a young DigiDestined on his head.

* * *

"Hurry, Ankylomon!" Cody urged. "I can see Wisemon over there."

"I'm afraid that if I were to run even faster than this then all the buildings will go timbering down," said Ankylomon.

Earlier, Cody and Upamon (who'd digivolved into Armadillomon while crossing the two worlds) had teleported straight towards the lab and were surprised to see how the boys were injured and Gennai was nearly mummified, while Yolei was unconscious. They'd gotten a briefing of the current situation from Gomamon and Tentomon before setting off to save their friends.

When they arrived, Cody saw that the situation was even worse than what he had thought it would be. Kari was now unconscious as well, but well-protected inside Doumon's barrier. Even Angewomon was defeated; Cody feared for the worst but right now he and Ankylomon were their only chance.

"Another DigiDestined, I presume?" Wisemon asked silkily. "And what's this? Only a champion level Digimon to fight me?"

Ankylomon huffed. "We'll give you a good fight, that I'm sure."

"Confident, aren't we? Well, bring it on," Wisemon said and prepared to fire his Eternal Nirvana once more. He was in no doubt that he could make short work out of the gargantuan Ankylomon.

However Ankylomon wasn't a Digimon with ranged techniques, and thus didn't act like one. He let Cody down before leaping up towards the air. For a Digimon possessing a large weight, Ankylomon seemed to have a subtle amount of agility as well, and had used it well. He loomed down onto Wisemon and knocked the dark wizard down his book with a heavy kick.

Wisemon was flustered momentarily upon the brute technique, but soon regained his composure. He then fired his elemental bolts, which all hit Ankylomon squarely against his armor. Strong as he was Ankylomon ignored the attack which merely was deflected upon hitting his hard shell, and charged forward. Wisemon was surprised; he didn't expect an opponent like this. He could handle Doumon, Rosemon or Angewomon as they depended solely on their techniques, but Ankylomon was different. He was a Digimon of force and strength, and ranged attacks didn't work much against him.

Ankylomon swung his spiked tail onto Wisemon and knocked the winds out of him. The sharp spikes from the metallic club attached on the dinosaur's tail had torn the decaying flesh that formed his skin. Dark purplish green liquid began to ooze out from the wounds. Wisemon had to change strategy. He had to find a way to beat Ankylomon by using the same equal amount of force.

Summoning back his magical book, Wisemon flew up and landed on it once more. Flicking his wrists furiously he turned over a dozen pages at once before reaching the desired page. Muttering some magical incantation he summoned a column of green light forward and the images of a Triceramon appeared from within. Wisemon harnessed the power of the Triceramon and willed the projected image to attack Ankylomon. Flicking his wrists, Wisemon made the Triceramon image launching a powerful Tri-Horn Attack against Ankylomon. The three powerful horns of the Triceramon-image blasted onto Ankylomon and caused Ankylomon to crash onto the road, sending rubles and dust everywhere.

"No! Ankylomon!" Cody cried. He raised his arms over his face to protect himself from the debris.

Wisemon wasn't satisfied. He turned to another page and generated a column of red light. This time around, the image of a Vermilimon appeared. The Vermilimon-image then blasted the fallen Ankylomon with a stream of burning hot lava, incinerating the shells of Ankylomon. When the flames ceased, the formerly yellow shells of Ankylomon was now soiled with black and grey soot.

"Let's see how much more abuse your dinosaur friend can take, DigiDestined!" Wisemon growled, and summoned several spectral demons to attack Ankylomon. However, suddenly something leapt from behind of him and clung to the robe he was wearing. Wisemon felt sharp claws digging into his robe and a set of claws grazing his head, tearing into his hood. Upon reflex, he used one hand to knock the intruding thing away and saw Gatomon.

Gatomon hissed as she made a graceful back-flip before landing on her feet. Wisemon felt his hood falling, revealing a decaying purple flesh that was the same color as his hands. Glowing yellow eyes shone brightly as his whole body was shrouded with a dark grey aura. His long, grayish white hair blew in all directions as he begun to cast a spell to attack Gatomon. From the corner of his eyes he saw that Ankylomon was overwhelmed by the dark spirits he had generated and was hurt by them.

Wisemon was further stopped by a nature-based energy ball. It was Lilymon. Glaring towards her angrily he knocked her away with a dark wave. The plant fairy was knocked against the wall of a building. However, Lilymon was adamant and quickly regained her composure. She then flew towards Gatomon, and threw a small purple bottle to the feline Digimon. She indicated with her hands that it contained the vial that would heal Kari of her wounds.

Gatomon was about to sprint back towards Kari when she caught sight of Ankylomon, who was hurt. After reconsidering her options, she leapt towards Kari and pressed a button on her Diginizer to teleport Kari back to the lab. Gatomon then leapt away before the pink light caught her as well. Lilymon was surprised but Gatomon didn't pay heed at her. With feline reflex she then sprinted towards Ankylomon.

A thin streak of lightning zapped the bottle away from Gatomon's paw and crushed it in midair. The liquid splattered all over the air and landed on the ground like mere drops of rain. Shocked, Gatomon turned to see the culprit.

"I don't think so," said Wisemon smoothly. "Sneaky little creature, aren't you?"

Gatomon hissed back in response before turning to Cody and said, "That vial is supposed to heal Ankylomon!"

Cody glared at Wisemon with a silent anger. He then looked over Ankylomon and saw that the dinosaur was barely able to stand. Gatomon was nearby, and she looked as if she wanted to tear Wisemon apart. On the sky, he saw Doumon and Lilymon. The two said females then lunged towards Wisemon, alternating their attacks towards Wisemon. Doumon continuously fired streams of red scrolls while Lilymon fired her Flower Cannon. Wisemon looked like he was preoccupied by the two Digimon.

"How could Wisemon be so strong?" Cody wondered out loud. "He's also an ultimate Digimon, like Doumon and Lilymon."

His eyes searched for any sign of weakness in Wisemon. Cody then saw how Wisemon would rely on his book to release various forms of techniques against his opponent. Wisemon had summoned two Digimon from the book and had used their powers to hurt Ankylomon. He also used the book to generate the demons to weaken Ankylomon even more.

"Of course..." Cody thought. He was reminded of how Ankylomon had knocked Wisemon down from the book. The dark wizard had been genuinely flustered and had fired an attack towards Ankylomon in retaliation. His attack however didn't cause a dent on Ankylomon's hard shell, but when he was on the book again his attack became much more versatile.

Cody immediately thought of a plan. He then looked for somebody to help and saw Gatomon. Beckoning for the feline to come over him, the curious feline complied and Cody whispered the plan to her eyes. Gatomon's eyes widened and her mouth broke into a somewhat sinister grin.

"I like the way you think," she commented. "So...we start now?"

Cody nodded. "Of course."

The two tiptoed silently towards the preoccupied Wisemon. Doumon and Lilymon saw them and continuously occupied Wisemon even further with barrages of their attacks. Cody and Gatomon then reached beneath Wisemon's book and wondered what they should do. The book was hovered at a distance of at least fifteen meters above them. Wisemon seemed to be increasingly wary and had raised the book even higher than before. Gatomon wasn't able to reach it by stepping up there alone.

"Cody, I need you to provide me a stepping stone for me to reach up there towards the book," Gatomon said.

Cody bent down and joined his palms together on the sides. Gatomon stepped on them, and Cody lifted the small feline up. Feeling a little amount of pressure on his hands when Gatomon attempted to jump, Cody resisted the urge to pull down his hand and instead, jumped to provide Gatomon with a little more momentum. Gatomon flew up and impaled the thick leather cover of the book with her sharp claws. She then moved silently towards the back of the book and climbed up. A cry was then heard and Wisemon crashed down onto the ground once more, followed by the book.

On top of the book, Gatomon began shredding the pages viciously. Cody came up a few seconds after and joined her.

Wisemon stirred on the ground and quickly got up when he heard the sounds of pages being torn. His yellow eyes widened. "No!" He cried, and fired a water bolt towards Gatomon and Cody, knocking both of them away from the book. The force of the attack was luckily weak, as out of panic Wisemon didn't put a lot of force in his attack. Gatomon and Cody were merely wet, but unhurt. Wisemon then approached them and began to generate a much more powerful Eternal Nirvana. This time, he meant business.

"How dare you," he seethed. "I've fallen for your trick twice, feline. Rest assured that there won't be a third time." He blasted Gatomon away with two of the elemental bolts: the bolts of fire and poison.

"Gatomon!" Cody cried, worried about his friend. Gatomon was thrown over the wall of a building and was knocked out unconscious.

"Oh, I certainly haven't forgotten about you yet," Wisemon said coldly, aiming the bolts of electricity and water towards Cody. "You think you are so smart now, aren't you? You certainly have cost me a very useful spell book. Now, why don't we play a game before I finish you off? Can you tell me what the effect of water and electricity combined is?" He laughed smugly after saying this.

Cody's green eyes widened. Wisemon had actually implied that he wanted to electrocute Cody to death.

Wisemon jeered. "No answer? Well, no answer is always a bad answer. So much for being the bearer of knowledge."

Suddenly, Cody's Diginizer of Knowledge let out a brilliant wave of yellow light. Wisemon was knocked away by the wave while Cody was pulled towards Ankylomon. The wave then transformed Cody into a glowing mote of yellow light and he was pulled back towards Ankylomon. He then entered Ankylomon's body. After that Ankylomon's body shimmered and dark clouds began to form on the sky.

Then everything became silent.

**: Transdigivolution :**

Winds begun to blow from the clouds and thunderclaps erupted. The winds grew frost-cool after a minute, hinting the drop of temperature to subzero level. Doumon had to generate a shield to house herself, Lilymon and Gatomon from the bitter cold. Wisemon however, was not shielded by the cold wind and was shaking. Ankylomon seemed to be strangely unaffected by the winds.

The winds then grew more forceful and begun to concentrate around Ankylomon. A thin layer of ice formed around Ankylomon's glowing body, but with a loud roar Ankylomon broke free and underwent a transformation. He reared back as his four limbs elongated. Then, Ankylomon stood on his hind legs as his front legs morphed into a set of thick arms with humanly hands. The same alteration was true for his hind legs, but his feet retained the original shape but grew larger to provide more support for his all new bipedal form.

"_**Ankylomon digivolve to..."**_

Ankylomon stood up straight as his Tail Hammer and his hard shell were extracted from him. The tail hammer remained the same, but now a seven feet long metallic pole was attached into the spiked metallic ball, forming a rather deadly weapon for his right hand. His hard shell in the meantime became a shield for his left arm. On the wrists and ankles the grey spiked bracelets remained. After that, his rounded, rotund body slowly shrunk and took a new shape of a burly man. His tough purple hide became his body outfit, while what remained of his dark yellow shell surrounded his crotch region and formed a bikini-shaped armor before extending to cover his thighs as well. Ankylomon's head then snapped back as a wave of yellow light transformed the dinosaur-like face into what looked and shaped vaguely human. The outer two-horned shell/helmet that adorned the upper half of Ankylomon's face now extended down to cover his whole face except for his round green eyes – giving him a Paildramon-like appearance. From the back of his head, a thick set of grey hair then sprouted out up to his broad shoulders.

Then, the image of Shakkoumon flashed in the background and the digivolved form of Ankylomon absorbed it. Instantly, his yellow armor and weapons became silvery white with subtle amounts of jewels adorning parts of his shield, lance, and armor. A metallic belt with two circular compartments was secured around his waist, and silver kneecaps and elbow pads decorated with a simple blue diamond adorned his knee and elbow. Finally, completing the transformation was a large, silver-grey furry cape which was attached to his broad shoulders, and it billowed down towards his ankles. The all-new ultimate level Digimon, standing at a statuesque twelve-meter tall and looked like a cross between a Viking warrior, a dino-human and Shakkoumon then announced his name for everyone to hear.

"**_... Valthrumon!" _**

**_/-/_**

_**0010110100010 - DIGIMON ANALYZER – 1010101001011001010**_

**Name** : Valthrumon  
**Attribute** : Vaccine  
**Level** : Ultimate  
**Type** : Warrior  
**Specialty** : Ice, Metal

**Attacks **: Katchina Bombs, Shakkou Shield, Titanic Hammer  
**Power Level** : 78

Valthrumon is possibly one of the physically strongest Digimon in the Digital World with long and short ranged attacks at his disposal. His Shakkou Shield is said to be able to resist the attack of even a Mega Digimon, and his Titanic Hammer and Katchina Bombs are said to be able to break through the hardest of diamonds.

_**011101010101010100101010101010101010101010110110100**_

**_/-/_**

Cody couldn't believe it. Finally, he and Armadillomon had successfully Transdigivolved together into a fearsome warrior of the ice. It was not what any of them had expected.

"_Wow-wee! I'm also a human type Digimon now, and boy do I rock!"_

Cody, now being the dominant part of Valthrumon, shook his head slightly. Armadillomon was obviously ecstatic of having a natural humanoid ultimate level, similar to the other partners of the DigiDestined. He cast a stern look towards Wisemon, who looked merely like a defenseless grasshopper when compared to the towering Valthrumon. His green eyes sparkled with a feeling of slight amusement.

"To answer your question, Wisemon... I don't really think that water and electricity did any harm to me and my partner. Instead, it helped us to finally attain the power of Transdigivolution."

Wisemon cowered slightly upon the stern, echoing quality of Valthrumon's voice. Barely there was any hint of the tone of a young boy speaking; the voice he was now hearing was strong and confident. He raised an arm and hastily generated barrages of elemental bolts towards his towering opponent. Even before the final barrage of those bolts left his left hand, his right hand already was in the process of conjuring spells from his book. It looked like he was going all-out now.

Valthrumon countered the attack easily with his glittering, spiked shield. The bolts were deflected back towards Wisemon, who merely absorbed it back with his extended right hand. His left hand then released a swarm of dark spirits towards Valthrumon. The titan tried to protect himself using his shield once more but the spirits then flew around him, and in time were getting closer. Valthrumon swung his Titanic Hammer around to get rid of the ghosts, but the weapon merely phased through the spirits.

"This isn't working," muttered Valthrumon. "What should we do?"

"_I don't know Cody...I haven't been in this form before. This is as strange to you as it is to me."_

As if responding to his plight, the hammer suddenly sparked with electricity and Valthrumon quickly directed it towards the ghosts with a full-force swing. A light blue streak of lightning zigzagged out from the hammer and caught on all the ghosts. With a loud shriek the ghosts all phased out and the lightning died away instantly.

"I don't know that that's even possible," said Valthrumon.

"_Ya'll be surprised." _Armadillomon replied from within. _"Now let's take care of tha big guy!"_

Turning his attention towards the dark wizard, an inspiration suddenly struck Valthrumon as he saw Wisemon generating a shield around him. It was pretty similar to how Doumon had done, and it looked like it was rather impenetrable. But Valthrumon had just the thing. Magic was not his specialty, but Valthrumon was a Digimon of force, and using force was what Valthrumon had in mind at the moment.

"Titanic Hammer!" he shouted, and released another streak of lightning out from his hammer. The lightning slammed against the shield, and Valthrumon saw how the shield shook slightly, though his attack didn't penetrate the barrier.

Two blurs of purple then shot towards the barrier. Doumon released her spell-undoing scrolls while Lilymon fired nature-based energy cannon. Both attacks slammed onto the barrier, and while Lilymon's cannon didn't work Doumon's was rather successful. The barrier phased in and out momentarily, and Wisemon was seen to be angered as he released a swarm of bats to engulf Doumon and Lilymon. The two females both collapsed onto the ground, but while they were beaten they had provided ample time for a certain titan to further flabbergast Wisemon.

"Katchina Bombs!"

Before Wisemon knew it, what seemed like three silver discs with spikes on their edges suddenly materialized and spiraled around him. He was stunned as the discs tore through his robe and ripped through the thick pages of his magic book. Wisemon was thrown onto the ground as the discs made short work out of his magical book. Ripping sounds were heard as the discs tore through the book on the other sides, and within a few lapse of seconds multiple disc-shaped holes with jagged edges were present all over the book. The book then let out a faint yellow glow before dissipated into data particles.

"No! My precious spellbook!" cried Wisemon, shocked. He turned to face his antagonist. "You'll pay for this!"

"Shakkou Shield!" Valthrumon bellowed, and the spikes on his silver shield let out projections of themselves towards Wisemon. A chilly wind then engulfed the spikes and froze them into dangerous-looking stalagmites. Before Wisemon knew it, the stalagmites rained onto him and pinned him onto the ground. Wisemon's robe was pinned onto the ground and he was forced to lie on his back, immobilized. Deep down, he was amazed that the spikes didn't impale him instead.

Valthrumon approached Wisemon, and looked down towards him. "You really have cost me a lot today. And you've also hurt my friends. I should just delete you for your treacheries, but I don't like to do it... especially when one was as defenseless as you are right now. I'll let you off...just go back to wherever you came from Wisemon." The titan then turned away to inspect his friends.

Wisemon was stunned, but his face then broke into a sinister sneer.

"You are certainly one with the heart...'tis a pity actually," he said silently. "One who extended pity over a dangerous enemy is weak, Valthrumon."

He then summoned bolts of fire to melt the stalagmites, and after the ice shards were vaporized he jumped towards Valthrumon, planning to attack him from the back. His arms swung to his front as he generated four orbs of poison and fire, but he didn't get the chance to release them onto Valthrumon...

... as the titan was aware of the attempt, and swung back with his shield over his body and his hammer swung freely, out of reflex and momentum from him spinning around. However what Valthrumon didn't have in mind was the result of the attack. As he spun around to protect himself with his shield, his other hand had instinctively attacked Wisemon, in a manner of how he would attack in Kendo.

The result was not pretty at all...as the hammer slammed onto Wisemon's head. A sickeningly loud crack was heard and Wisemon's eyes bulged as he gasped. Then his head exploded into data particles, before the rest of his body followed. It was a quick death for Wisemon, and it shocked Valthrumon so much that he devolved back into his composite selves. Armadillomon had gone back to being Upamon again, and Cody just stood still... eyes opened wide. Upamon plopped onto the ground as Cody didn't catch him in his arms.

"Cody?" the little in-training Digimon inquired. "Are you alright?"

The sound of his partner snapped Cody back to reality. He shook his head slightly. "I don't know Upamon... I never liked seeing death liked that. I've seen too much of them."

Upamon understood exactly what his partner was saying. Cody's dad was shot while in line of duty when the boy was young, and not too long ago Cody had watched Yukio Oikawa dying right in front of him, practically on his arms. While he had seen many more evil Digimon being deleted subsequently; MaloMyotismon, the twin dragons Megadramon and Gigadramon back during the day when they received their Diginizers and NeoDevimon back on File Island, Wisemon's death was something he did with his own hands...and it affected him.

"Do not think that you have done wrong, young Cody," said a female voice from his side.

Turning to his side Cody saw Doumon, who was carrying an unconscious Gatomon. Beside her was Lilymon, who smiled warmly to him. It was Doumon who had spoken to him.

"Yeah, don't ya think that ya've done lots of good here? Ah mean, look at what Wisemon had done to your friends. Look at this city. He'd leveled the whole Asuka City if you didn't stop him," said Lilymon encouragingly. "Now ah'm not encouragin' ya to delete Digimon unnecessarily, but Wisemon had it comin' for him. If ah have enough power and better control of mah Mega form maybe ah could have done some dents to him."

"Yeah, Cody... they're right!" Upamon chirped. "You've done good...and I never thought that I would digivolve naturally into a COOL Digimon like Valthrumon! I can't wait to do it again. Soon. Man...Valthrumon looks even cooler than the others in my opinion."

Upamon's enthusiasm and Lilymon and Doumon's words were what Cody needed to hear. Smiling, he picked up Upamon and beckoned for Doumon and Lilymon to stand close to him. Looking at Upamon before pressing the teleportation on his Diginizer, he said to Upamon,

"Yeah...I can't wait to ask what they thought about Valthrumon."

* * *

"So Catrina's plan is foiled once more," Chaos Specter mused as he switched off the monitor. Rubbing a finger on his chin, he leaned back onto the throne and continued thoughtfully, "I don't know if she realizes it... it is ironic, but her attacks had done _nothing_ but to make it possible for the New DigiDestined of Love and Knowledge to merge with their partners."

* * *

Cody and Upamon's injuries were minimal compared to the others, as the power of Transdigivolution had automatically healed most of them when they were in one being. Wisemon hadn't had a chance to inflict any damage onto Valthrumon up to his deletion, and besides from minor scratches on his hands which were due to his inexperience of holding two heavy-duty weapons, Cody felt ready to return back.

He was about to open a Digiport to return back, when somebody tapped him gently on his right shoulder. Turning around, he saw the willowy figure of TK looking down at him with concern.

"I really hate to say this to you, Cody... but don't you think that you're a couple of hours late to complete your tournament?" he asked, gesturing towards a digital clock which was labeled "Human World – Odaiba time".

Cody stopped immediately; he was too enthralled with his new experience and didn't think of the time up till the moment TK reminded him. He grew frantic and quickly opened a gate and walked through it. The gate led him to a secluded alley near the dojo, and Cody quickly broke into a run, with Upamon held close to him. He saw that the crowd outside the dojo was already gone when he reached there. There were only two to three cars left, along with a white and navy blue van belonging to the local broadcasting company. Cody knew that could only meant one thing...and he dreaded it.

The tournament was already over. Cody wondered who had won it. Pushing the doors he walked into the dojo, and saw that most of the crowd was gone. However Cody saw some familiar faces... which included the older six DigiDestined and the Inoue family all were idly chatting with each other or doing something else.

Tai was seen talking with Yolei's sister Chizuru on the farthest side of the crowd, while Matt and Sora were seen sitting silently a few meters nearby with their gazes fixed on Tai and Chizuru. Izzy was seen busy with his laptop, which was connected with his camcorder, with Mimi watching the laptop with mild interest. Joe was reading a thick book, while glancing onto Izzy's laptop once in a while. None of them had seen or heard him coming apparently. Cody then darted his eyes towards the other side of the room.

To his surprise, he saw Azuma Nakagawa, sitting alone on a secluded bench near the judges' table. He was seen polishing his shinai idly, and beside him... Cody's heart sunk slightly upon seeing the glorious Silver Shinai trophy beside Azuma. That could only mean one thing; Azuma had won the tournament. Then Cody realized that it had been two hours after the contest was over... why was Azuma hanging around the dojo? All other contestants have left.

Not all apparently. Cody's eyes then caught Setsuna Meiji, who was talking with her instructor, who was also one of the judges – Jonathan Lee. The blonde judge was seen complimenting Setsuna, whose face glowed with what looked like a total admiration towards the older teen. Cody thought that Setsuna might have a crush on the young judge, but dismissed the thought quickly. Over a table, he saw the other two judges – Akayashi Meioh and Haruhiko Kanagawa – who were having tea with Cody's grandfather and mother. Setsuna and Azuma weren't the only contestants who were still there though; Cody then saw Yugure Seito leaning against a pole, scowling towards Azuma's direction.

Cody released the door, letting it close noisily. That immediately caused all the buzzes inside the dojo to stop. Cody cringed uneasily when he felt more than a dozen pairs of eyes suddenly focused on him.

"CODY!" nearly everyone roared. Yugure and Setsuna immediately ran towards him, while Azuma, still in his seat, smirked.

"Where have YOU been?" Yugure roared. "You've missed the whole finals."

"Not to mention, giving me a free pass towards the finals," said Setsuna smoothly. Her composed attitude seemingly had obviously returned, despite what Cody saw earlier.

Cody smiled nervously. "I...kind of had something really important to do?"

"Don't give us that, man," said Yugure, unsatisfied. "What could be more important than the tournament? In case you didn't notice, that Nakagawa boy has won the Silver Shinai. Man, I was rooting on you to win, y'know."

Cody raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Thanks, Yugure. I guess...it's not meant to be. Maybe I'll have a chance next year."

"You seem to be calm in accepting this," Setsuna pointed out.

Cody was about to reply when suddenly the microphone buzzed slightly before the voice of Jonathan Lee blared all over the dojo.

"Well, it seems that our formerly 'missing' contestant has returned. A friend of yours...the redhead with the camcorder... has told us that you have something extremely urgent to be taken care of. The judges had no choice but to disqualify you, thus automatically allowing Miss Setsuna Meiji to advance into the finals against Mr. Azuma Nakagawa. The winner of the tournament and the Silver Shinai trophy is officially Mr. Nakagawa... but after the tournament ended many felt that you should be given another chance..."

Cody's face brightened instantly and Upamon accidentally, out of gladness, broken into his pretense. However he covered it up quickly, as the blonde judge continued,

"... However, bear in mind that this is merely a mock-tournament. Mr. Nakagawa and Miss Meiji are still the official winner and runner-up, but all of us who remained here would like to see how far you can go. So, if you're ready Mr. Hida, we will start with the theoretical questions that you and Miss Meiji will partake in five minutes."

The minutes went by and after the judges were seated at their places, Cody and Setsuna were given ten theoretical questions which Cody got all of them correct, while Setsuna made a slight error on the ninth question which merited her only a half-mark. Thus Cody was the one who advanced on the finals against Azuma Nakagawa. The champion kendoka smirked.

"So we've finally are facing each other, though not exactly the way I have expected it to be."

Cody nodded. "Yes. Anyway, congratulations on being the winner, Azuma."

"Yup. Won it fair and square now," the older boy said with a shrug.

The contest between the two kendokas then started, and the judges mentioned that the first who would score two points win the match. Both Azuma and Cody displayed amazing skills which made Setsuna, Yugure and the audience speechless. It was not how the way they moved; Azuma was a renowned young kendoka while Cody had gotten some popularity from the way he advancing from the preliminary to the semi-final before his abrupt disappearance. Every thrust or strike made by one was efficiently countered by the other.

"Men!"

Both kendokas seemed to be of equal level and strength. It was strange in a way, as one could easily see that Azuma's skills were definitely better than Cody before the latter's disappearance. Cody might be an excellent kendoka, but he was still a junior in a contest such as this, while Azuma could be considered a veteran.

"Do!"

Cody found his skills being enhanced slightly after his Transdigivolution. However despite the healing he'd gotten from HolyAngemon, Cody still needed rest after fighting a fairly powerful wizard Digimon that very day. He felt his grasp onto his bamboo stick loosened slightly, which proved to be a ticket for Azuma to win. Azuma seemed to be heading to disarm Cody from his shinai, and Cody knew that without his shinai he'd lose instantly. Immediately he grasped his shinai firmly and flicked his wrist, attacking Azuma's wrist instead.

"Kote!"

And it seemed that Cody had it where Azuma didn't expect him to attack. The tip of Cody's shinai brushed against Azuma's wrist gently, enough to surprise the older boy into releasing his shinai. Azuma's bamboo stick plopped onto the floor and rolled over.

A buzzing sound was heard, ending the contest slightly. The judges all declared Cody was the winner for the mock-tournament although the official winner was still Azuma. Azuma frowned momentarily before observing Cody, with his thick brows furrowed close to each other. His face was stern.

"A diversionary tactic... how nice," he said emotionlessly. "Pretending to be tired, yet still able to give the coup de grace."

"I wasn't pretending; I'm really tired," Cody protested. His tone was earnest. He extended his right hand. "It was pleasant fighting with you."

The frown on Azuma's face disappeared upon hearing the genuine tone from Cody. He didn't knew Cody, but he did know that the boy – judging from the brief encounters he had with the younger kendoka, he knew that Cody wasn't the one who would lie. He accepted Cody's hand and smiled slightly.

"In that case, you really recovered well," Azuma remarked. "Y'know, I really must learn not to quickly look down on people."

Cody smiled. "A lesson worth knowing, in my opinion."

"I don't know whether you're being sarcastic or sincere with that, but whatever it is...you're right."

"I'm being sincere."

Another voice interrupted them. "Hey, at least _you_ get to keep the money and the trophy, Nakagawa." It was Yugure, with Setsuna behind him.

Azuma shook his head. "I don't think I deserve the prizes; I've lost, remember? I bet you're glad at that, Yugure."

"Yup!" Yugure declared, but a glare from Cody and Setsuna quieted him down.

"I was disqualified," Cody countered. "You keep the prizes, Azuma. You deserved it."

"You've beaten me fair and square in the finals, so you deserve the prizes," said Setsuna fairly. "Your contest with Cody is a mock-tournament. Perhaps next year you should be more on your guard, as Cody might have been able to beat you when that time comes."

Azuma shrugged. "I look forward on that. Anyway, it was nice meeting you all... Cody, Setsuna, Yugure, but I must be going now. I should be home a couple of hours ago."

"Wait..." Cody stopped him. The older boy looked at him with a questioning look. "Do you have an e-mail? We can keep in touch."

"Uh...not yet, but tell you what. I'll have yours, and when I do have an e-mail I'll send a mail to you."

"All of us, you mean; I don't mind keeping in touch with fellow kendokas," said Setsuna. "Right, Yugure?"

"Hmm."

Setsuna then produced a paper and tore it into four pieces. She then asked for everyone's emails and telephone numbers, and wrote them neatly on the four papers before distributing them towards Cody, Azuma, Yugure and herself. All of them pocketed the papers safely inside their pockets, and smiled to each other. Azuma then bade them goodbye and left the dojo. Yugure followed soon after, saying that they should find some time to hang out before school reopened.

Setsuna and Cody talked to each other for a while before judge Jonathan Lee approached them. The young judge congratulated Cody.

"It's a shame that you've left the tournament so soon; or else it'd be you who have all those prizes," he said.

"It's ok, I guess. At least, I know how far I can go," Cody replied.

Jonathan Lee smiled, and patted Cody's shoulder. "Spoken like a true kendoka." He then shifted his glance to Setsuna and smiled. "I have an idea..." he said, and turned back to meet Cody's eyes. "Do you have anything to do this coming Wednesday?"

Cody was surprised to hear the question, and Setsuna looked mildly so as well. "Well...not really." he said, not counting on the sudden call of emergency he might've had from the Digital World.

"Great. Anyway, I'm holding a birthday party for myself this Wednesday. Just a small one...nothing fancy, but you see, Setsuna here is the only child who is going to be present, the others will be my four childhood friends. So I think that, since you and Setsuna are friends, maybe you can keep her company at the party, as she'd be bored if left on her own."

"That's not true!" Setsuna protested.

The blonde seemed to ignore her protest. "So can you make it?"

"Well...Shinjuku is not that far, but I think my mother or grandfather wouldn't want me to go there alone," said Cody. "I'd need a chaperon."

"Then bring some of your friends along," Jonathan said, gesturing towards the older batch of DigiDestined.

Cody was thoughtful. "I'll ask my 'computer club' friends to accompany me then... they were here, but now they're...not."

The blonde nodded in understanding. "You mean the ones with that...plush toys...with them? That's great. Don't forget to ask Azuma and Yugure whether they'd like to join as well. The more the merrier. Do you have an e-mail? Oh great, I don't have a paper and pen with me now...hang on a sec..."

"Don't worry. I've given it to Setsuna," Cody said.

"Oh, in that case... I'll e-mail you the direction to my apartment tonight. Now...just how many of you will be coming over? Give me some rough number."

"If everything goes well, I think it will be six of us, eight including Yugure and Azuma."

"Great," said Jonathan, smiling to Setsuna. He then handed the bag he was holding on his left hand towards the girl. "Well, Setsuna, we better move along now or else your mom will have my neck."

"See you, Cody," Setsuna said, taking her bag from Jonathan. The two of them then bid farewell to Cody and walked out from the dojo.

Cody then was bewildered upon the friendliness demonstrated by the young judge towards him. He'd never been to an adult's birthday party before, and wondered on how it was going to be. His grandfather and mother then came along, and told him that Izzy had explained to them in detail of what had happened and the reason of his abrupt departure. They were proud of his decision. Afterwards Cody told the older DigiDestined of his accounts at the Digital World, and that the other DigiDestined were still currently at Asuka Laboratory to 'fix some things up'. Izzy was ecstatic of hearing that Cody and Upamon had Transdigivolved together and quickly inquired for Valthrumon's details. The older DigiDestined then took their leave upon seeing that the young boy was exhausted, and Cody immediately decided that a long bath was due before a long night of rest.

After all, it was the least he could do to reward himself (and Upamon) with his achievements for today. And in Upamon's case, perhaps a large amount of dinner was due as well. He'd wait for next day to ask the DigiDestined about Jonathan Lee's invitation. Curious as he was of the reason the young judge might had in asking him to accompany Setsuna during the party, Cody couldn't be bothered with it for now.

However, he got a feeling that he was about to see a lot more of Setsuna and Jonathan Lee from this day on.

* * *

/-/

/-/

/-/

**Author's Note:**

PHEW! Finally, this chapter is finished. And according to Microsoft Word word-counters, this chapter has 16, 761 words! My longest chapter to date, I don't think I want to write another long chapter as that, but who knows? It's hard to keep up with long chapters; I don't know how some people manage to do it. I have really considered breaking this chapter into two, but decided against it. I'm trying to keep up with the rough plan I have.

**_Valthrumon?_** Who in the _world_ is that? Actually, Valthrumon is a creation of mine. As you all may know, Armadillomon's mega form is confirmed to be Vikemon, and he looks WAY too different from Armadillomon – Ankylomon line. So I thought, while penning the rough ideas for this fic: Why not create a new ultimate form for Armadillomon? Back then I envisioned a Digimon which is a mix of Ankylomon and Vikemon, but I don't have a name for this new ultimate form of Armadillomon. It was until early this year that I've finished with the rough ideas of how the whole story of Vengeance is going to be, and I come up with a list of characters from the Norse Mythology, and I saw _Valthrudnir_. Valthrudnir is a Titan of Ice who challenged the supreme master in the Norse Mythology - _Odin_.

What about Shakkoumon? Well...I don't hate him, but I find him not fitting in the Armadillomon – Ankylomon - - Vikemon line. Sorry, Shakkoumon fans. I know there's at least one of you.

Alright, now I've got this chapter out... this will be the most recent update for Vengeance for a while. I have finals to concentrate on in less than a month from now, and I really need to study. Maybe I'll update Legends, but I don't know whether I can find the time. If everything goes well, you'll be hearing from me in June. Check my main page.

**_Yami Vizzini_** – I think you'll get the answer of Jonathan Lee's intention in this chapter. And yes, all things that are mentioned here will be in Legends of the DigiDestined. Right now I'm trying to wrap up the Dragomon arc and to start with the Mephistomon arc during the summer holiday the latest. Hopefully it will be earlier, but with exams coming up... 

**_Digi fan_** – Here's a LONGER chapter than the last.

**_Jack the ripper_** – Rosemon is always thought to be Lillymon's true Mega form, though Angewomon can digivolve into her too (at least, that's what the game came up with). I wonder why they didn't put Ophanimon or Magnadramon inside, and use Rosemon instead.

**_Dark Qiviut_** – Thanks for the permission. Yes, I do use the encyclopedia as a guide for the evolutions although sometimes when I come across a line I don't really like, I'd end up making up my own evolution lines (like in this chapter). I think I've read your story about TK's thoughts, but I haven't read that part with Kari yet. I'll try to read it soon. And just out of curiosity, have you caught up with the latest chapter for Legends of the DigiDestined?

**_Gerjomarty_** – I have plans for Chizuru, though she'll not be the main character but it will be interesting to see how she turns out. And as for Chaos Specter's intention, you're getting there, but not quite. :D More of Lilymon and Doumon will be explained in future chapters, but their story starts in Legends of the DigiDestined. Catrina will be a major player in this fic, though she may not look like it YET :) That battle with Azuma and Cody may not be the one you have in mind, eh? And Akayashi Meioh's presence turns out to affect nothing of the whole event.

**_Bluesv20, dark672, CustomMagnum_** – Thanks. :D

**_DarkFictionWizard_** – A new reviewer! Welcome to Vengeance, DarkFictionWizard! Yes, the Sakuyamon that appeared in the Trial of Kindness arc is a Sakuyamon Kabuki Mode, though I never really put it into words. Thanks for reviewing and for the comments.


	35. Time Threat

**Previously on Vengeance:** As Cody reaches the finals of the Kendo tournament, the situation grows dire in the Digital World. Backed by Wisemon and the lethally powerful MetalPhantomon, Catrina gains the ultimate upper hand in the battle. The other DigiDestined give their best shot and manage to beat the MetalPhantomon, but have drained their powers at the same time, forcing them to retreat. Cody receives a message from Asuka Laboratory asking for help, and has to forfeit the tournament in order to so. His sacrifice is rewarded as he and Armadillomon achieve the power of Transdigivolution at the nick of time, becoming the mighty Valthrumon. The Titan of ice overpowers Wisemon easily and deletes him.

* * *

Beaten and battered, Catrina furiously de-Digivolved back into her Champion form to conserve her energy as she stepped foot on the Velvet Claw. The outcome of the battle she had with the DigiDestined surprised her greatly; she'd thought that arming herself with a powerful sorcerer Digimon who commanded a legion of spectral, pickaxe-wielding menaces would guarantee her victory. Alas, most of the MetalPhantomon were successfully beaten, though Catrina was partially satisfied that in order to beat them, four out of five DigiDestined were placed out of commission for the time being. However she'd expected that Wisemon would give a much more impressive performance. After all, he had beaten the Mega-level Rosemon and the Ultimate-level Doumon seemingly without much effort. To think that powerful as he was, Wisemon couldn't match the brute strength of that titanic warrior Valthrumon was simply preposterous, Catrina thought.

"I wonder what master would think of this. Surely he knows of what had happened. I've wasted a bunch of strong Digimon today…"

Catrina made way to the throne room, where Chaos Specter could be usually found. Looking around the straight, dimly-lit tunnel made out of metallic walls which she was in at the moment, Catrina silently hoped that her master would not be angry with her. The fact that Chaos Specter had NEVER been mad at her before didn't really assure her; once again she'd made a fool out of herself, she thought. Taking a deep breath, the Champion black feline hastened her steps towards the end of the tunnel, which shone with a yellowish hue against the dim lights of the tunnel.

Entering the throne room, it didn't really surprise Catrina to find it void of anyone. It had happened before, and she was left behind numerous times whenever Chaos Specter and his Chaos Generals went out to seize an alternate Digital World dimension. Truth be told, she was slightly relieved that Chaos Specter wasn't there to ask her of what mistakes she'd done in her battle. It gave her more time to think of a clever way to reply to her master's interrogations, which usually would earn her fewer interrogations.

But of course, she couldn't help but wonder as well of her master's whereabouts.

"Hey, computer! Chaos-AI! Where's the master right now?"

"_Master Chaos Specter and the three Chaos Generals are pursuing Kimeramon and Machinedramon. They are heading towards the deserts of the eastern quadrant of East Sector."_

Catrina merely sighed in relief. She then decided to recuperate, by cleaning herself up and taking some shut-eye. She walked out from the throne room listlessly and wandered through the dark and narrow corridors. Tired, she practically had to drag herself to her room. Her eyes partially closed, she walked at random, already knowing the direction towards all the rooms by heart. There was no way she could lose herself in these corridors. She would just have to turn to her left at the first four-junction and walk straight ahead – her room would be there.

However, by thinking too deeply and having her eyes closed Catrina was too much distracted into remembering her steps. She had unintentionally missed to turn left at the first four-junction and had walked straight ahead the dark corridor. Letting her paw rest on the wall, Catrina wondered whether she was too tired. She thought that she hadn't reached the first four-junction, and continued walking. Within seconds she reached the second four-junction and thinking that it was the first, she turned left, her eyes still closed. She walked straight, ready to reach for the doorknob to her room, when all she felt was…a flat glassy surface.

"Hey!" Catrina opened her eyes wearily and saw that she was standing in front of a large mirror. Her reflections mirrored her shocked face. "A mirror? What happened to my room?"

Catrina was about to turn back, realizing her error, when she noticed something at the side of the mirror. Beside the brass frame of the mirror was…a slight opening. It was as if the mirror was a door, and somebody had left it ajar. Catrina was about to push the mirror to close the opening when curiosity got the better of her, and she tried pulling the mirror. When the mirror didn't budge, she tried sliding the mirror to the side…and amazingly the mirror slid towards the left, revealing a dark hallway behind it.

"Wow! A secret corridor!"

Woes and tiredness forgotten, Catrina was now excited upon her new discovery. She had lived all her life inside the Velvet Claw and had believed that she knew every nook and cranny of the flying fortress. She even knew where the engine room was, and yet here was a corridor leading to who-knows-where. Peering inside, Catrina couldn't see anything at the other end of the corridor except pitch black. Her curiosity roused even higher, Catrina stepped in the dark hallway and slid the mirror close. She was surprised to see that while the other side of the mirror had reflective surface, the side where she was viewing at the moment was simply a transparent glass, not a mirror.

"A trick mirror!" Catrina gasped. "What's it doing here?"

For a while she stood still, debating with herself whether she should just walk out and pretend that she'd never found the secret passage, but naturally being a cat her curiosity got the better of her. To her, the Velvet Claw belonged to Chaos Specter and he must also know about this passageway. Catrina began to wonder of what secrets Chaos Specter could be hiding now. She turned back to face the dark corridor and waited for her eyes adjusted to the darkness of the corridor. Aided by the light coming through the trick mirror, Catrina soon was able to see her way through the metal-walled passage after her eyesight was automatically adjusted to the scanty amount of light.

"Secrets, here I come…"

Catrina walked slowly, utilizing all of her senses to aid her in the dimly lit corridor. She was afraid that the hallway was full of traps waiting for their prey, but to her relief there was none. The corridor grew darker as she advanced, and Catrina was thankful that she wasn't claustrophobic. She then reached a vaulted door, made out of grey and blue metal. There was no doorknob or anything else that could be used to open it. Then she noticed a green flicker of light, followed by red, located somewhere at the side of the door. It was a digital device, with buttons of alphabets and numbers, and a long thin screen above them. She realized that perhaps the door would open only by entering the correct password.

"And this is just great! I don't know what the password is!"

But she was unwilling to give up just easily. There must be something inside the vault, and Catrina wasn't about to just go and forget about it. Her heart thumping, she began to think of several possibilities of what lied in there. She needed to find somebody who was able to hack the device and come up with the password. Reluctantly Catrina walked away, and stepped out of the mirror. She slid the mirror close, and began to think of somebody that fit the bill. It had to be a Digimon based on machinery intelligence.

"Ah! I know the right 'mon for the job!"

Happily she ran off towards the Digimon holding bay, which was where Digimon who were loyal to Chaos Specter were placed. It was the place where she recruited Asuramon and Wisemon, and the perfect place to find the perfect candidate to aid her in her little escapade.

* * *

_**Vengeance**_

**_Chapter 34: Time Threat_**

_Several hours earlier_

Even as the battle at Asuka City took place, another fierce fight occurred over the far-eastern side of the East Sector of the Digital World. In the midst of the desert plains on that region, a city surrounded by thick metallic fences – dubbed Machine City – was under siege by two Digimon whose minds were under control by one particularly heinous being.

After breaking free of Chaos Specter's clutches, the digital spirit of Milleniumon guided Kimeramon and Machinedramon away from the Velvet Claw and back to the deserts where Milleniumon's castle once stood. In the middle of the journey, they encountered Machine City – home to various machine-type Digimon under the lead of Andromon, who was an ally to the DigiDestined. Seeing this as a perfect opportunity for him to gain some slaves to work for his cause (or data to feed him power), Milleniumon ordered Kimeramon and Machinedramon to attack the city.

With an army of machine-based Digimon at his disposal, Andromon had retaliated but found no ways of defeating his opponents. He had no other option but to contact Asuka City for assistance. Luckily, Piximon was around the lab and had answered his distress call for help. The ultimate-level Digimon trainer then rushed to assist his fellow friend, followed by two ultimate Digimon who Andromon did not recognize, though the android noticed some semblances of one of them to his friend Leomon. The other looked like a female version of Stingmon, the differences merely the fact that this Stingmon-look-alike wore jeweled armor and looked relatively female. No introductions were made as upon arrival, the three cavalries instantly joined the battle. Thanks to their new assistances, the Digimon of Machine City managed to raise the odds against Milleniumon's two lackeys – but their opponents were still the stronger bunch. Andromon then sent another distress signal for more help, but found out from Wizardmon via a transmission that the DigiDestined were too preoccupied with the fight with Wisemon and Catrina. They were on their own.

"Open fire! Give these intruders all you have! Do not hold back!"

Upon Andromon's command, the Mekanorimon and Guardromon sent barrages of missiles towards their looming assailants. Their attacks were joined by sparks of lightning shot by a group of electrical-based Thundermon and their higher evolutions of Mamemon, BigMamemon, MetalMamemon and Giromon. A flock of armor-level Thunderbirdmon took the skies to attack from the air, but was shot down immediately by a strong wave of Heat Viper from Kimeramon. Machinedramon sent a powerful blast of his Infinity Cannon which effortlessly incinerated the attacks sent by the other.

"We need more power!" Andromon said distressfully. He drew back from the battlefield momentarily when his eyes caught a small mechanical insect Digimon coming his way from the center of the city. Recognizing that the newcomer was bringing him some news update, Andromon darted towards it and launched a couple of his Gatling Missiles to deflect an attack from Kimeramon which threatened the life of the young rookie. Kimeramon howled in annoyance and diverted its attention towards GrapLeomon, who caught his attention, while Andromon caught the little 'mon and brought him to safety.

"Oooh! That was too close! Thanks, sir! I am here bringing news for you, Mr. Andromon, sir!" the robotic insect chirped as Andromon put him down.

In the background, explosions ensued; followed by cries and some loud curses from GrapLeomon, in a voice so brash that Andromon had wonder for a moment whether the voice really belonged to the Leomon he had known from before. To him, the lion sounded much more like his rival Ogremon. After making sure that nobody was hurt, Andromon shrugged it off and returned his attention to his young company.

"Good, Kokuwamon. Now tell me, what is the status of the DigiDestined at Asuka City right now?"

The little robot beetle saluted Andromon with reverence. "Yes sir. I have managed to contact two Digimon there. They are Tentomon and Gomamon…and they said that the DigiDestined are pretty much out of commission for the time being. They are battling with Chaos Specter's minions at the moment."

Andromon sighed. "That is very bad news…" He was worried of what would happen to Machine City if Machinedramon and Kimeramon weren't stopped. "It looks like we are on our own," he decided dejectedly. He then turned to look at Kokuwamon, who was looking at him expectedly. "Now you go and take cover, this battlefield is no place for a youngling like you to be around." Kokuwamon immediately protested, and it took Andromon a couple times to persuade Kokuwamon to go, and finally he resorted into ordering the rookie to go to make him obey his command. After Kokuwamon ran off back to the safety, Andromon rejoined his fellow friends and army to continue the battle.

A deafening explosion occurred as he arrived at the battlefield. After the shockwaves and the smokes resulted from the explosion cleared off, Andromon was shocked to see that the buildings there were now in ruins; the metallic floor of the city was now cluttered with remains of what once constituted the proud buildings of Machine City. He could see Piximon, Jewelbeemon and GrapLeomon lying around – all seemed to be unhurt, yet defeated. Their expressions harbored a horrified expression, and they were staring at the sky. Following their eyes, Andromon looked up and let out a loud yell of disbelief. The sight that was presented before him was enough to shake him apart. His eyes widened with horror as he swore upon the ugly sight before him.

He saw Kimeramon and Machinedramon, floating in midair and glowing with faint white lights, absorbing whirlwinds of multicolored data particles. Faint cries of help were heard but before Andromon could identify the voices, the wails dissipated. His eyes darted wildly over the charred ruins of the battlefield and he dropped to his knees when he couldn't see any of his comrades. The Guardromon, Mekanorimon, Thundermon, Mamemon brothers…all of them were gone. Andromon realized what had happened instantly; they had been absorbed by the two abominations that were terrorizing Machine City.

Behind Kimeramon and Machinedramon, the sky grew dark. Lightning zigzagged and thunders boomed as slowly an image formed behind the two Digimon. Their eyes then flashed with krypton-green lights as the image became clearer. The image, harboring what looked like a blackened fusion of Machinedramon and Kimeramon, erupted into millions glowing purple data particles, and the two Digimon absorbed the data. As soon as the last bits of data entered their body, both of them turned into two greenish-white motes of lights that seemed to radiate pure evil. The two motes entwined with each other and a blinding tornado of light erupted. The tornado initiated a sandstorm all over Machine City, burying nearly a quarter of the city with sands. Although it was still bright by the time Andromon, Piximon, GrapLeomon and Jewelbeemon got themselves out from the sands, the sunlight seemed to have been eclipsed. Darkness reigned the once-bright day, and the good guys bore witness to the beginning of what could be called…doomsday.

"**Kimeramon….Machinedramon….DNA Digivolve to……MILLENIUMON!"**

**

* * *

**

"_Warning! There is a disturbance in the eastern quadrant of the Eastern Sector."_

The steady, droning, mechanical-enhanced female voice of Chaos AI snapped Chaos Specter from his observation of the current battle going on at Asuka City. Narrowing his emerald eyes, Chaos Specter turned his attention towards the smaller viewing screen in the throne room, which was currently showing the clash at Machine City. Clouds of thick, grey smoke dominated most of the screen, with buildings being shot down and multiple Digimon firing their signature attacks towards a common goal ensued in the background. The screen displayed everything in mute.

"What in the world? How did those two get there?"

Chaos Specter stood up straightly when he saw Kimeramon and Machinedramon terrorizing the city. Fighting the two of them was three Digimon whom Chaos Specter recognized as the ones from Asuka Laboratory, and the other was Andromon, leader of Machine City. Andromon was seen leading a large team of machine-based Digimon in their fight against Milleniumon's slaves.

Gazing into the screens, he saw how despite the large number, the good Digimon still were not a match to Kimeramon and Machinedramon.

"Fools. Don't they realize what they're playing at?"

An explosion caused by the combination of the two Digimon's attacks temporarily covered the viewing screen with brilliant orange lights. The lights were followed by thick black smokes obscuring Chaos Specter's sight. When the smokes cleared out, he was astounded to see that the place where the battle occurred was reduced to rubbles.

"The Machine City destroyed? What could be his intention in doing so?"

Yet, a series of events that ensued afterwards didn't really surprise him, as he had expected them to do so. Though happening away from under his supervision, it was what he had intended to do with them anyway, so it didn't bother him that much. He even smiled slightly when the two monstrosity of Digimon merged together.

"So, it has finally happened. The event I have been waiting for so long…it's time I take matters in my own hands."

Standing up from his throne, he issued another command to the integrated computer of his flying fortress.

"Chaos AI, ready the Chaos Rings. I have a feeling that I'm going to need them. And alert the Chaos Generals. We're going to Machine City."

* * *

_Present time_

After the battle at Asuka City, all the DigiDestined were worn out. Upon returning to his home, Cody had dropped by at Yolei and TK's place only to find them sleeping already, clothes unchanged and dinner forgotten. Their action baffled their family, and Cody had to give a quick explanation of what happened in the Digital World, keeping out some of the gorier parts lest the parents were worried. He'd then called Kari, Davis and Ken's houses and found that all of them were asleep, or was going to sleep. Cody was lucky to be able to catch Kari before she'd gone to sleep, but from the way she sounded, Cody could see that the DigiDestined of Light was dying to place her head on the pillow more than anything. He bade her goodbye quickly, ate his dinner and cleaned himself up before he himself went to bed.

In the meantime, the older DigiDestined team, comprising of Tai Kamiya, Matt Ishida, Sora Takenouchi, Mimi Tachikawa, Joe Kido and Izzy Izumi, gathered at one local bistro in the middle of the busy city of Odaiba, near the Rainbow Bridge, just to hang out together. It had been a long while since all six of them could sit in one table and talk. There was Mimi, who stayed with her parents at America. She was spending her long summer holidays in Odaiba, and was currently staying at Sora's house since the Tachikawas couldn't make it back home. And there was Matt, who was becoming more and more of a teen icon now that the Teenage Wolves were garnering recognition (especially after the 2002's Christmas invasion saga, where their concert was invaded by a group of wayward Digimon). Joe was seldom seen with the rest of the DigiDestined as he was getting busier than ever, studying to excel and to be able to attend med school. Sora had a part-time job, helping her mother out at her mother's flower shop, and once in a while she'd visit her father. Izzy and Tai however kept themselves most up-to-date in what was currently transpiring at the Digital World; but all the older DigiDestined kept in touch with the world of adventures which all of them had grown so fond of, and of course, with their partner Digimon.

For an hour, they exchanged topics of conversations. Tai was of course, bombarded with inquiries about his new girlfriend, and had no chance of talking about other matters. Izzy briefed everybody of the current matters transpiring in the Digital World, and updated everyone of Cody's new Transdigivolution. Mimi told the team about the American DigiDestined team whom she had befriended, and how she was easily accepted in their circle. She was even looked up as a leader, as she was the most experienced amongst them. Joe told the team about how hard it was for him to balance all the schoolwork he had in order to qualify for med school, but he wouldn't trade it for anything. Matt filled everybody in with the Teenage Wolves' latest progress and future plans, and warned them not to spill the beans to anybody else, while Sora shared some hilarious experiences she'd had when some girls she didn't even know approached her for Matt's autographs. She planned to have Matt sign all the business cards of her mother's flower shop; that way the shop could have some free publicity.

They were about ready to leave the bistro when unbelievably, their Digivices beeped for the first time in a long, long while. Each and every one of them looked at each other with a confused expression. Firstly, did ALL of them carry their Digivices to the bistro? And secondly, what would Gennai want from _them_?

"What's going on? This has never happened before," Matt wondered confusedly. He cast a look at the shorter teen sitting beside him. "Izzy?"

"I don't have a clue," Izzy admitted. He raked his brain for a possible explanation, and gave the most plausible reason he could think of. "Perhaps it's from Gennai."

Mimi scratched her temple absent-mindedly. "Do you think there's trouble in the Digital World?"

"Maybe," Izzy answered. "My guess is as good as yours, Mimi. Besides, our Digivices can't be used like the Diginizers. Even if there's something happening in the Digital World, the only way we can go there is by using a Diginizer to open a gate, or maybe a D3 and a computer."

"Still, I think we need to check this out," Matt insisted.

"That's fine, but right now we're attracting everyone's attentions." Sora pointed around them as she cupped her Digivice inside her palms. A few of other diners were looking at them oddly.

Mimi waved at the curious diners with a plastered cheerful smile on her face. "Oh, sorry about this, everyone. We've just got a pressing engagement." The other DigiDestined face-faulted, but couldn't help but to admire her ease in tackling a tense situation like this. Indeed, a simple explanation given by her satisfied the diners, and they resumed with their own businesses.

"Nice," Izzy commented.

Tai got up from his seat. "I'll pay the bills, and then we're outta here to check this out. Here, take Koromon…" he reached down the table for Koromon, who was munching some food merrily, and passed it to Matt. The blond smartly held a palm over Koromon's mouth in order to stop the little in-training from protesting. He then went up straight towards the casher.

"I think it's best if we go now," Joe said nervously. "We can wait for Tai outside."

The others nodded and quickly got up. Avoiding everybody's stares, they walked out the door and immediately went to a deserted alley beside the bistro. However, just before they could do anything else, their visions were blinded by a flash of green-white light erupting from their Digivices. It came all of a sudden, enveloping them wholly and muffled their screams with loud, rhythmic vibrations. Closing their eyes, the DigiDestined gradually felt the weights of their bodies becoming lighter. Then, everything became dark to them and nothing more was heard.

When Tai went to look for the other DigiDestined at the alley, all he found was an unconscious Koromon.

* * *

"What in the Digital World is happening here?" HolyAngemon turned to Gennai. "How did they just…disappear like that?"

Gennai, who was currently sitting up straight on the medic table where he was lying on a few while ago, had a shocked look embossed on his handsome face. His eyes were wide-opened and transfixed towards the corner where plush round sofas were located. It was where Gomamon and Tentomon loved to laze about during their stay at the laboratory.

"I don't get it either…perhaps, they were teleported to some place else," Gennai said slowly. He quickly got down from the medic table and got dressed, despite his injuries not fully healed yet.

"By who?" HolyAngemon asked again darkly. "I sense an uncanny feeling with this event. Something is not right. First Piximon, GrapLeomon and Jewelbeemon left the laboratory without any prior message. Then right in front of our eyes, Tentomon and Gomamon just blinked out, just like that."

"But why Tentomon and Gomamon? Unless…" Gennai stopped when a sudden thought crossed his mind. Quickly, he went towards the nearest computer and typed some commands onto the computer. The computer buzzed momentarily before a map of File Island flashed on the screen. Gennai observed it and groaned angrily, "…it's what I've thought would happen too. Biyomon, Gabumon and Palmon have vanished from File Island as well. I can't get a trace of their signals."

"It seems to me that they've been kidnapped…by someone, or something. But why would anybody want to kidnap them?" HolyAngemon asked, but continued before Gennai could answer his question. "Wait a minute… All the disappearing Digimon are partner Digimon, right? But… how does that explain the fact that Piximon, GrapLeomon and Jewelbeemon have vanished as well?"

The digital human shrugged. "We don't know that for sure. Maybe they were already gone even before the whole battle at Asuka City started. Perhaps they're just somewhere else…we can locate them using the worldwide scanning. But I don't think they are that far off…perhaps a scan over the Eastern Sector alone would be enough."

Gennai tapped on the keyboard again and the large viewing screen displayed a worldwide map of the Digital World, before zooming towards the east. He then issued a command for the computer to locate Piximon and the other two. The computer immediately beeped and displayed three green dots over the eastern quadrant of the sector.

HolyAngemon was about to comment, but Gennai hushed the archangel. "We're getting a visual."

What he saw on the viewing screen next was enough to make his legs shook. Sweat trailed down his forehead while his eyes were transfixed towards the screen. His mouth was slightly open; there was a horrified expression on Gennai's face. HolyAngemon took a look and flinched.

"I don't believe it!" Gennai roared, his voice shaking. "How did he get there? Forget that…how did he come into being in the first place?"

"My guess is the fact that the Zeed Crystal has long been embedded on Chaos Wargreymon must play a certain factor in this," HolyAngemon said worriedly. "But look…Andromon and our three friends can no longer fight Milleniumon. That demon is too powerful for them."

"What's your plan?"

"I believe this is time for me to go and help." HolyAngemon then glanced up towards the digital clock, and smiled slightly. "We are going to need at least a Mega Digimon to challenge Milleniumon. It's rather unfortunate that I alone cannot advance to my Mega form…but my disciples, I believe, have already done so. The three of them are powerful when combined. And it's our luck right now that they are going to end their meditative cycle."

And as if right on cue, the teleportation platform glowed and three angels materialized there. They looked refreshed, and all were smiling.

"What are you three so happy about?" Gennai demanded. "For your information, we have a really grave situation here."

Piddomon, d'Arcmon and Angemon didn't answer; instead they knelt in front of HolyAngemon. It was an act of reverence, though HolyAngemon never demanded it from his disciples. HolyAngemon quickly beckoned for them to get up, and Gennai's sharp eyes were quick to notice a faint hint of pink on the revered angel's cheeks. The three angelic disciples however stood up and continued talking as if they hadn't notice anything.

Angemon was the first one to talk. "We have successfully achieved it, master."

"We have managed to attain a second Mega form, I believe, although we haven't tested it for sure yet," d'Arcmon continued breathlessly. It was obvious that she was ecstatic. "It's a form that's even bigger than my Phoenixmon form." She let out a slight giggle from it, and while Angemon looked indifferent, Piddomon seemed to be embarrassed by it, judging by the change of color on his pale cheeks into a shade almost similar to his tunic.

HolyAngemon looked at Piddomon questioningly. "That is very good news, I suppose? Do you mind telling me what is on your mind, Piddomon?"

Piddomon was about to speak when Angemon cut him off loudly. "I don't see the reason why Piddomon should be embarrassed by it. After all, his Mega form is very powerful, and has a couple of very devastating attacks."

"Well, as much as I'd love to hear more about it, I'm afraid that we have no time," Gennai said quickly before Piddomon could retort to Angemon's remark. "An abomination known by the name of Milleniumon has returned to our plane, and is currently assaulting the Machine City on the eastern quadrant."

"What about the DigiDestined?" Angemon inquired. "Shouldn't they be notified too?"

Gennai shook his head slowly. "I feel that after what happened today, the DigiDestined need their rest. Our medic table can heal injuries and rejuvenate strength to a certain level, but they will still need to rest the normal way in order to be fit to fight – especially when now they are merged with their partners during fight. Besides…there is something else which has happened. The older DigiDestined…apparently five of them, have disappeared from their home world. And the same were true for their Digimon partners…HolyAngemon and I have just seen Tentomon and Gomamon vanished right in front of our eyes. While we don't know about the culprit behind this act, but judging from Milleniumon's sudden appearance, I say that there's a fair chance to assume that _he's_ the one responsible."

"Then we have no time to lose," d'Arcmon said, and glanced sideways towards Piddomon. "Besides it'll give us the chance to test out Piddomon's Mega form."

Piddomon groaned. "I was afraid you'd say that."

HolyAngemon and his three disciples then took up the pedestal and vanished in a myriad of light. Gennai sighed in relief and was about to slink on the sofa to continue his rest when something on the screen jolted him back to full alertness. He saw Chaos Specter, now flying across the sky in his Velgamon form. Behind him, his three generals were following close. Chaos Piedmon and Chaos Seadramon were seen speeding along Velgamon, while Chaosdramon was left to walk his way across the treacherous deserts of the eastern quadrant.

"I have a pretty good idea of what _his_ intention is right now," Gennai muttered to himself, eyes twinkling.

* * *

As Chaos Specter, in his Velgamon form, approached Machine City he could hear a massive explosion coming from the city's direction. Massive ripples of black smokes ensued, soaring towards the darkened sky. The smell of the smokes was suffocating despite the distance, and Chaos Specter realized that he was about to face the very thing that he'd wanted to confront for years. Glancing behind towards Chaos Piedmon, Chaos Seadramon and Chaosdramon who were trailing him from behind, he beckoned for them to move in front of him. The three generals obeyed their master without question.

"Be prepared. Milleniumon isn't a normal Mega Digimon. Never underestimate his power, and have no fear. I'm confident that if we combine our powers together, we are able to bring him down to his knees," Velgamon said confidently. He flapped his large wings and soared higher to have a much more clear view. The view which greeted him made him fazed temporarily before he descended to meet his Chaos Generals. "Milleniumon has just successfully destroyed three-quarters of Machine City."

Chaos Piedmon flew past his buzzard-formed master. "We won't fail you, master. Besides, I'll have the pleasure to teach that traitorous Chaos Wargreymon some lessons."

Velgamon merely grunted in reply. "Do as you wish. I need the three of you to fight him while I direct Chaos AI to launch the Chaos Rings to ensnare our time meddling friend."

"I don't see why we couldn't beat Milleniumon," Chaos Seadramon huffed as he glided above Chaos Piedmon. "After all, we've managed to capture the four Harmonious Ones and they are supposed to be the most powerful Digimon around – they are the guardians of this digital dimension, not to mention. So what's the big deal?"

"Milleniumon's power ranks equal to Azulongmon and the other three guardians," Velgamon snapped, glaring towards the Mega level serpent Digimon. "And he has TWO higher evolutionary forms, which are more powerful than his current form. So don't ever underestimate him."

"But according to the story I've heard, ZeedMilleniumon was beaten by a mere kid no older than the DigiDestined," Chaos Piedmon pointed out. "It was said that the boy trapped ZeedMilleniumon inside a rookie level Digimon." The clown general shook his head in disgust.

Velgamon grunted again, this time sounding more annoyed rather than angry. "Milleniumon was too foolish to bear a soft spot for that boy. However, the boy is not around now; so there's no holding back in fighting Milleniumon. It would be best to prevent Milleniumon from evolving to his stronger forms."

Chaos Piedmon and Chaos Seadramon nodded, and Chaosdramon listened to the conversation with his fullest attention, despite not having the slightest idea of what the conversation was about. Compared to the much more experienced two generals, Chaosdramon felt that he lacked a lot of information. Most of his time was spent at Tyrannovalley, and after he was banished from the valley, Chaos Specter offered him a place in his army. Working under Chaos Piedmon once, Chaosdramon had never thought that the jester would become his equal in the future. After his defeat by Lady Sakuyamon of Tyrannovalley's Ivory Citadel, Chaos Specter found him and after realizing his potential while in Mega form, Chaosdramon was welcomed to fill in the place formerly belonged to Chaos Wargreymon. After some series of hard training, finally Chaosdramon was allowed to take part in the battle against Milleniumon.

"I will do my best to prevent that from happening, master," he finally said with full determination.

Velgamon nodded, but didn't reply. Instead his eyes were transfixed by five pillars of green light that suddenly descended from the cloudy sky. With his excellent sight, he was able to see clearly of what was inside the pillars. He halted, confused.

"It looks like our friend is a step ahead of us. He has captured the senior DigiDestined and their partner Digimon."

Chaos Piedmon had also stopped from going even further; he stooped in mid-air behind a mountain of sands and peered up. "Indeed he has, although he had missed one. That big-haired older brother of the DigiDestined of Light isn't there. And so is his Agumon."

"What would he want with the older DigiDestined?" Chaos Seadramon wondered. "Wouldn't it be better for him for him to capture the younger ones instead? They are much more powerful than their predecessors with their Transdigivolution powers."

Velgamon thought for a while. "No…the younger ones, except for the DigiDestined of Hope and Light, have no part in Milleniumon's first battle with the DigiDestined. The eight senior DigiDestined and a boy named Akiyama are the ones who've beaten him. Perhaps he's looking for revenge." He sneered in his buzzard-like way, revealing his sharp teeth rowed inside his long beak. "While I have no interest in Milleniumon's desire for vengeance, it would be interesting to let Milleniumon finish off eight DigiDestined at one go. It will make my mission a lot easier to achieve."

"But he only has five of them now," Chaosdramon pointed out.

The crimson buzzard Digimon snorted. "Yes, fool…but be patient. If my calculations are correct, another three pairs will join their friends soon enough. Until then, we wait for the right moment. I've waited for hundreds of years, there's no reason why I cannot wait for a few more, if it helps my cause." Velgamon then reverted to his human form of Chaos Specter. Then, with help of Chaos Piedmon's magic, he formed a protective energy dome around the four of them to mask themselves from being detected by Milleniumon.

* * *

"One…two…three…four…five…hmm…"

Milleniumon was ecstatic. First he had regained his original form, after years of waiting in silence. He'd dreamt about returning to power ever since a part of him – his dominant part, had been trapped inside the body of a rookie Digimon called Monodramon, no thanks to a certain Ryo Akiyama. It was lucky that he had somehow foreseen an unfortunate event that would befall him, and had created a fallback plan before he left to track down Ryo on the boy's home dimension. Despite some safeguard measures enacted by Ebonwumon and Kuzuhamon to prevent anyone from having contact with the Zeed Crystal – luck had led Chaos Wargreymon to him.

"Chaos Wargreymon was certainly a powerful Digimon, and worthy of being a part of me now. And my Kimeramon half, created by a fusion of an unfortunate rookie Digimon and Devimon's digital DNA, is also a worthy addition. With their powers added to my own, I will be unstoppable!"

He then observed the pillars of light in front of him – containing the unconscious DigiDestined he had captured and their partners. Though he was missing four pairs, having five pairs for the time being was more than an accomplishment for him. His ability to bend time and space enabled him to easily locate the DigiDestined, although in his newly-formed state, his power was limited. He had enough power to make one inter-dimensional capture, and had used it to kidnap the five senior DigiDestined.

"I still am short of four DigiDestined…the one with Wargreymon, MagnaAngemon, Angewomon and Stingmon are still out there…"

Looking back, Milleniumon was reminded of the final battle he had with the eight legendary DigiDestined who were renowned as saviors of the Digital World from the wrath of Devimon, Myotismon, the Dark Masters and Apocalymon. Despite having them captured in his castle, he had missed Agumon…and that had led him to his defeat. A boy named Ryo Akiyama had appeared out of nowhere, and Milleniumon hadn't foreseen this event. The boy owned a Digivice similar to the eight DigiDestined despite not having a partner. With the Digivice, Agumon was temporarily powered up all the way to his Mega form and had successfully beaten all of Milleniumon's henchmen before freeing the other DigiDestined and Digimon. Then all of the Digimon Digivolved into their highest Digivolutionary form before fighting an intense battle with Milleniumon.

Milleniumon remembered everything clearly. How Zudomon, MegaKabuterimon and Garudamon impaled him with their strongest attacks. Despite being only ultimate level Digimon their combined efforts had forced him to fall on his knees. MagnaAngemon then had used the opportunity to strike at him with his powerful holy blade of Excalibur. Milleniumon had wanted to retaliate, but somehow he was immobilized by Lillymon's wreaths of flowers, and Angewomon's holy light. Wargreymon and MetalGarurumon then merged to become Omnimon, and delivered their mighty attacks towards him…deleting him successfully, or so they had thought.

Milleniumon had foreseen events in which he was being defeated by the DigiDestined long before the moment when he had decided to kidnap the eight children of the legend. He had bid for his time, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. He had left the first batch of DigiDestined alone, seeing how powerful they had become while he, at the time, was a Mega with powers that of an average Mega Digimon.

In order to prevent himself from ever being deleted permanently, he had extracted some of his digital data and had them crystallized. He then had embedded these crystals into the bodies of two of his minions. He had selected the carriers of his crystals carefully, and after doing so he had sent them away into hiding. Nobody knew the identities of these Digimon, and Milleniumon had not bothered to create more than two crystals as he was confident that he could never be defeated twice.

When he was deleted by the eight DigiDestined, in his dying breath he had called up one of the crystal carrier, which had been a Datamon. The data inside the crystal within it was copied, and it Digivolved into a Machinedramon before Milleniumon's digital data took over its body, transforming the Machinedramon into himself.

He'd returned again and that time around, faced Ryo and a young boy named Ken Ichijouji. The two of them only had one ultimate level Digimon at their disposal. Paildramon, a data-type Digimon, could never match his level of powers. Paildramon had taken some serious damages from Milleniumon, but when the dark Digimon attempted to destroy Ryo and Ken once and for all, his attack was somehow rebounded back at him. It was Ken's Digi-Egg of Kindness which had saved them, though at the cost of the Digi-Egg itself. The power of the Digi-Egg then was absorbed by Paildramon, healing his wounds as well as amplifying his powers. Paildramon then was able to conjure a phenomenal attack which successfully beat the injured Milleniumon. For the second time, Milleniumon was defeated.

After firing the dark spores towards Ryo and Ken as a hasty attempt of revenge, Milleniumon immediately activated the second crystal which at that moment, was within a powerful Megadramon. Transforming back into his own body once again, Milleniumon planned his next step carefully. He created the Zeed Crystal, using the same procedures he'd done with the previous two crystals. But instead of having it embedded inside a Digimon, Milleniumon chose to have the crystal hidden as it was. He made the crystal having the ability to select a powerful Digimon to serve as carrier, and while bidding its time, the crystal itself would grow more and more powerful as time passed. Milleniumon then became MoonMilleniumon and pursued Ryo to have battle with him.

"I shall not make the same mistake again. The DigiDestined will meet their doom this day and…and what is this? Somebody's here…"

Milleniumon's sharp senses had picked up the presence of four beings somewhere not far from him. Despite having some interference when he tried to detect the identity of the beings around him, Milleniumon was certain that he was being watched. And he didn't like it.

"Silly magic will not hide you any longer!" Milleniumon aimed his cannons towards up north. "Infinity Cannon!"

The attack instantly was met with yet another powerful blast coming from the opposite direction. The two attacks collided in midair and a massive explosion resulted. While Milleniumon was unaffected by the explosion – he merely had enacted an energy barrier to prevent the explosion from harming his captives – four figures emerged from the smokes. The momentum resulted from the collision of attacks had thrown the four of them several yards back. A black-and-blue MetalSeadramon, a black-and-white Piedmon, a massive crimson Digimon bearing some semblances to Machinedramon and a human were revealed.

"You!" Milleniumon hissed, narrowing his eyes. He stared into the pale eyes of Chaos Specter warily.

Chaos Specter landed on his foot and stood straight with ease. At his back, Chaos Piedmon and Chaos Seadramon hovered in midair while Chaosdramon struggled to get up, having being thrown on his back. Chaos Seadramon glided to Chaosdramon's side and knocked him back up to his feet.

"Me," Chaos Specter said, and smiled maliciously. "I've been wanting to meet you for a long time, Milleniumon."

Milleniumon was unimpressed. "Unfortunately, I do not feel the same way. Yet, I do owe you for providing me with a vessel to ensure my return in this physical plane. Chaos Wargreymon and the Kimeramon you have provided were definitely powerful Digimon."

"It's a pleasure. Now that you've returned...why don't you express your gratitude by joining my side? I could use your talents of bending time and space."

"I do not have any intension to ally myself to the likes of you humans."

"Really?" Chaos Specter said, quirking his eyebrows sarcastically. "Your other half seem to have willingly obliging the orders of a certain boy."

Milleniumon snorted, almost to the point of laughing. "Once Cyberdramon and Ryo Akiyama have attained the ability to Biomerge Digivolve in their home world, the Milleniumon-half inside Cyberdramon was left as a mere memory. _I_ am the true Milleniumon, for now and for eternity."

Chaos Specter sneered. "That's mighty assuring, as I am in need of a _true_ Milleniumon. Your power to transcend time is what I seek. It will be easier for all of us if you just come down with us. I don't wish to fight you unless necessary, and if push comes to shove I have my Chaos Generals to back me up."

"If you are able to beat me, I will have no choice but to oblige. But do not blame me if in the end, you have lost yourself three faithful minions."

"We'll see about that. Generals, attack!"

Chaos Piedmon and Chaos Seadramon immediately glided forward, readying their strongest attack. Chaos Seadramon's snout shimmered with intense blue light, and making a forward flip in midair he unleashed a torrent of freezing beam of ice towards Milleniumon. The ice froze Milleniumon's cannons, and this gave Chaos Piedmon the opportunity to attack. The jester swung his blades with amazing speed, attempting to hurt the mighty Mega Digimon. Chaos Piedmon slashed his swords into Milleniumon's exposed organic body, drawing out blood from the trauma sites. He followed the brutal assault by firing energy balls from his hands to further injure Milleniumon.

All the while, Milleniumon didn't even retaliate and this unnerved Chaos Specter. Looking back, he saw Chaosdramon still standing in standstill.

"What are you doing? Don't just stand there! Make yourself useful and help your fellow generals!"

The hesitating Chaosdramon complied and charged forward, attempting to blast Milleniumon with his Hyper Mugen Cannon. However he halted in midway, seeing that his comrades had efficiently worked together to immobilize Milleniumon. Should he attack, he would only disrupt their teamwork in defeating the manipulator of time.

"What we don't need here is a third wheel," Chaos Piedmon sneered when he saw Chaosdramon approaching.

"We can handle this on our own. Stay out of the way, rookie," Chaos Seadramon added, while firing yet another of his Giga Ice Blast.

Milleniumon's eyes blazed in deep purple light and black aura glimmered from his body. Instantly the ice on his body melted, and the injuries inflicted by Chaos Piedmon on his body was immediately healed. He laughed a piercing laughter which unnerved his opponents.

"Fools! You two have NO chance of defeating me! I can easily manipulate the time and return my body back to health. Your efforts are pointless!"

"Don't underestimate us, Milleniumon," Chaos Piedmon said evenly. "We generals have brought down the great Baihumon with just the two of us working together as a team. And the three of us generals have easily beaten Azulongmon and Ebonwumon. We can bring you down."

To Chaos Piedmon's surprise, Milleniumon merely snorted in disgust. "_Easily_, you say? I beg to differ." He laughed loudly, before continuing, "According to Chaos Wargreymon's memories, Baihumon had almost ripped off those lanky arms and legs of yours should your human master there didn't interfere with his wheels. And Ebonwumon had placed Chaos Seadramon into a deep sleep and almost had him defeated if it were not for Chaos Wargreymon's timely interference. And do not even think of getting the credit for Azulongmon's capture."

Chaos Piedmon's pale cheek had turned considerably pink upon Milleniumon's disgusted remark. Chaos Seadramon however was unfazed and unleashed his River of Power attack to blast Milleniumon again. Chaosdramon regained his composure and slammed against Milleniumon, dipping his sharp claws inside of Milleniumon.

"I'm gonna make this clean and quick!" he exclaimed loudly, locking his gaze onto Milleniumon. "Hyper Mugen…"

"Oh, save it, you hunk of junk!" Milleniumon snapped and slapped Chaosdramon away with his long arms. Granted, Chaosdramon merely moved back a few steps as his heavy stature made it difficult for him to be thrown away with just mere slaps. Milleniumon however saw Chaosdramon's surprise and fired two beams from his evil yellow eyes towards the mechanical dragon's chest…impaling the dragon Digimon straight through his thick armor.

Seeing Chaosdramon almost being killed by Milleniumon, Chaos Specter blasted a couple of electric bolts from his snake staff onto Milleniumon. This had effectively stalled Milleniumon and Chaos Seadramon was able to slap Chaosdramon out of harm's way.

"Now just sit back and let the big boys handle this." Chaos Seadramon then promptly fired another yellow stream of energy towards Milleniumon.

"Trump Swords!" Chaos Piedmon threw his four swords directly towards Milleniumon's face.

"I tire of this already!" Milleniumon exclaimed. He charged up the cannons mounted on his dark shoulders. "Dimension Destroyer!"

The effect of the attack was immediate. Two black energy balls with sizes as massive as his own stature were thrown towards the Chaos Generals and Chaos Specter. Chaos Piedmon immediately set up a magical barrier to block the two deadly spheres. However the forces that came with them were so strong, Chaos Piedmon was thrown back nearly a mile away. Chaos Seadramon was slammed onto the sands of the deserts, his armor chipped and broken at various parts. Chaosdramon was able to evade the blasts since he was out of harm's way.

In the meantime, Chaos Specter had successfully shielded himself inside a dark violet energy ball. When he reemerged out from the ball, he was no longer in his human form. He was now clad in the dark armor of Duskmon, but had Velgamon's red wings on his back. He made a back flip in midair before landing on the ground impressively.

Milleniumon was surprised with the new form of Chaos Specter. "Who are you?"

Beneath the face armor that covered nearly all his face, Chaos Specter smiled. "You can call me, **Veldusmon**. And the battle has _just_ begun."

* * *

Hidden within the clouds of the night sky from Machine City, a tall figure draped in dark crimson robe was seen hiding behind piles of sands. He was holding a device with his gloved hand, and was pointing it towards the two fighting Digimon. The device, blue in color and bore some semblances to the Digivices, provided the stranger some readings.

"Milleniumon; Mega level, virus type synthetic Digimon. Attacks include Dimension Destroyer and Time Unlimited."

He then pointed the device towards the other Digimon. However, the device didn't function as it had before; all it did was let out a series of beeps.

"No data?" An echo-like voice groaned, sounding as if annoyed rather than surprised. "That's weird. The last time I've gotten that kind of response is when I tried to scan Guilmon."

"I haven't seen Digimon like that before either." The second voice was rougher and mechanical compared to the first's youthful one.

"Well, one thing's for sure; the guy we saw just now has turned into that Digimon. And I thought Biomerging is weird. Here they got human _turning_ into Digimon."

"Perhaps he's a digital human, like your friend Gennai."

"Yeah, maybe," the first voice said, not really sounding satisfied. "Speaking of Gennai, do you think we should go and let him know that we're here?"

"No. It's better that we lie low for now. We'll reveal ourselves when the time is right. I personally don't want Milleniumon to notice that we're here for now."

"Well, whatever you say, buddy. How about now we go to Machine City? From the looks of it, it's gonna be an intense battle between Milleniumon and that unidentified Digimon. We'll be at risk of blowing our cover if we stay here any longer. Milleniumon has just blown up half of the city. Maybe there are casualties who need our help."

After getting the approval of the second voice, the robed figure left the skies, heading towards the ruined city of machine.

* * *

After checking out the Digimon holding bay for a Digimon that could aid her, Catrina had finally chosen a Nanomon, which was a female, maroon version of Datamon. The ultimate Digimon claimed to be an expert in anything relating to computers, and when Catrina told her of their mission, Nanomon was more than pleased to aid her.

"Hacking passwords is one of my many specialties!" Nanomon exclaimed gleefully.

Catrina nodded. "Fine. But remember, this mission is only between the two of us. Nobody else, not even the master, should know about this."

"But I vowed allegiance to the master!" Nanomon protested.

"Yes, I know…and I'm his favorite. If you obey me, it'll be like obeying the master too. Besides this is something important. It's for the master too, but I wanna it be a surprise. The master will…uh, definitely be pleased when we are able to solve this mystery. I'm supposed to do this alone, but uh…well, I'm not the expert when it comes to computers. You however fit the bill."

Nanomon thought for a moment. "Well, if you say so, miss. I have to admit that it does feel good to be working together with a fellow feminine Digimon for a change. You don't know how chauvinistic some of the male Digimon are. I really don't get much respect around here."

"Well, we'll show them, won't we?" Catrina was glad to be able to convince Nanomon to join her. "Let's go. The sooner we do this, the better."

Catrina immediately led Nanomon towards the secret mirror and into the dark passage. Upon seeing the digital device, Nanomon immediately got to work. Wires appeared out from her mechanical hands and attached themselves onto the device. She did her work quietly; her eyes glowed in 0s and 1s as she searched for the correct password to make the vault open. Within a couple of minute they heard a clicking sound, and to Catrina's glee, the door started to open.

"Good work, Nanomon! Now let's see what's inside."

The two of them walked inside with anticipation. Even Nanomon was beginning to feel curious as well. They walked into a circular room, dimly lit with neon light from the ceilings. There was a large screen, similar to the one inside the throne room, but smaller. A leather chair was fixed in front of what seemed to be a computer panel – which was pretty basic compared to the higher-end ones inside the throne room. There was only a keyboard, some multicolored buttons and optic drive slots. Beside the control panel was a rack full of CD jewel cases.

"It looks like an archive, in my opinion," Nanomon commented.

Catrina didn't reply. The two of them continued walking towards the control panel, when suddenly a pillar of blue light came out from a small platform. The two of them nearly jumped in surprise when they saw somebody appeared within the pillar of light. It was a human…or perhaps a human-form Digimon, dressed in black bodice and violet outer robe. Black bat wings emerged from the Digimon's back, but it could easily be mistaken as ribbons decorating the apparel. It was a feminine Digimon, and when she turned to face them, they were surprised to see an elegant face radiating dark beauty staring at them with a pair of sharp, dark eyes. Her face was expertly made-up, there was a tint of rouge on her pale cheeks, and her lips were painted pale violet. Several strands of raven hair cascaded at the sides of her face, while most of her hair was held up in a bun by an ornate gold tiara.

"It's a Lilithmon!" Nanomon exclaimed, in a voice of unmistakably fear.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Well, finally after three months of absence, Vengeance is updated. This chapter marks the beginning of the second season of the series. I'm sorry to keep you guys waiting, but I couldn't find the right time to just sit down and type the next chapter when I was constantly on the move during the summer holidays. But now that holidays are over, I can finally continue writing. I really need to speed up things a bit.

Anyway, to**_ DarkFictionWizard, Dark Qiviut_**, **_Zeroslasher_**, **_dark672_**, **_Yami Vizzini,_** **_CustomMagnum,_** **_Change in heart_**, **_gerjomarty, jack the ripper,_** **_"Anonymous reviewer" _**and **_Bluesv20, _**thanks for the wonderful reviews. I'm sorry that I couldn't reply to your reviews for now, but I will do so in the next chapter.


	36. Curiosity Kills the Catrina

**Previously on Vengeance:** Milleniumon has finally been created, from a DNA Digivolution between Machinedramon and Kimeramon. He then proceeds on capturing the older DigiDestined, holding them captive for his own diabolical need. Chaos Specter and his generals confront Milleniumon, but Milleniumon proves to be much more powerful for the Chaos Generals to handle. Chaos Specter decides to take the matter on his own hands, and transforms one step further into Veldusmon. The ultimate battle between two forces of evil is about to begin, but back in the safety of the Velvet Claw, Catrina makes a surprising discovery…

* * *

"Hey, who are you?"

Nine-year-old Ken Ichijouji stared in a mixed feelings of awe and confusion upon the larger-than-life green caterpillar that had popped out from the strange flower-shaped thing that he'd found while walking aimlessly in the Digital World. He had never seen anything like it before. Not only that this caterpillar was way bigger, hundreds time more compared to the ones he had seen, but also it looked more…cute. Plus, Ken was sure that no caterpillar on Earth weighted like the one on his lap right now. Wow, wait till Sam sees this, he thought silently.

The caterpillar stared back at him with a pair of curious, innocent blue eyes. "Hello, I'm Wormmon! And you must be my partner DigiDestined! I've been waiting for you!"

From that day on, Ken and Wormmon became best friends ever since. He would come everyday to the Digital World in order to meet his new friend. They played together and had various adventures, as well as meeting many other interesting Digimon. They had loads of fun, but it soon became apparent to Ken that meeting Wormmon meant much more rather than just fun.

One month after meeting Wormmon, Ken was approached by a very old, sentient digital human being. He introduced himself as Gennai, and told Ken that Wormmon meant much more to Ken that just a play mate. Together they had a destiny to fulfill, as no child was called from the human world for no apparent reason. Gennai also took the pink egg-like thing that Wormmon hatched from, and told Ken that it was actually the DigiEgg of Kindness. It represented the crest of Kindness, which was yet to be found, and served as a back-up means should the normal route of Digivolution was disrupted. After tinkering with the DigiEgg and Ken's Digivice, Gennai produced a small computer-like device. The DigiEgg vanished, absorbed by the console for storage.

For many more weeks to come, Gennai kept a close watch on Ken and Wormmon and coached them on the ways of the Digital World before deciding that Wormmon could defend Ken when time called for it. He left the pair, saying that he needed to now locate some strange stones which names Ken was not able to catch. One day, while exploring an exquisite tropical jungle, they tumbled path with a rogue Strikedramon. Strikedramon claimed to be sent by his master to destroy Ken and Wormmon. At first, not knowing what to do, the young DigiDestined acted upon instinct. He picked up Wormmon and ran away as fast as his leg could take him.

While running for his life (and Wormmon's), Ken crossed path with a wandering older boy. Delighted to meet another human, Ken hoped that this boy had a strong partner Digimon that could help them in their current state of predicament. Unfortunately, the boy had no partner. Even more strange, the boy didn't seem to want to run away. He replied with ease that he'd handle the matter. Ken thought that this boy was too cocky for his own good, but his tone suggested that he knew what he was doing, so Ken left him be and hid behind a nearby tree.

When Strikedramon caught up with them, the boy scooped up some soil and threw it into the dragon's eyes. Strikedramon retaliated and slashed the boy's chest in response. The boy then fell onto the ground unconscious. Shocked to see this, Ken felt compelled to help the older boy. Mirroring his desire, his Digivice glowed, and Wormmon Armor Digivolved…into a pixie Digimon by the name of Puttiemon. Puttiemon didn't match Strikedramon in terms of brute strength, but possessed enough magical powers to paralyze Strikedramon before striking him with a twin energy arrows coming from his extended ears. Having no desire to kill, Puttiemon merely made sure that Strikedramon was simply knocked out.

Surprisingly, while unconscious Strikedramon de-Digivolved into a smaller blue dragon – a Veemon. Veemon woke up and explained that he had fell under a dark spell. The spell robbed him of his consciousness, and from that moment his body seemed to be willed by another being. The dark power of the spell later consumed him wholly and Dark Digivolved him into Strikedramon. A voice then whispered to him, commanding him to kill a human boy with a Wormmon as a partner. Veemon was sorry for what he had done, and thanked Ken and Puttiemon for releasing him from the dark clutch of the spell.

The boy Veemon had struck earlier woke up not much later after Ken tried to clean his wound with water. Puttiemon then demonstrated another unique ability: he was gifted with a limited power of healing. He helped cure the injured boy, nursing the wound until it no longer proved to be endangering the boy. The boy then introduced himself as Ryo Akiyama, and told Ken that he was a DigiDestined, but without a partner.

Not knowing of what else to do, Ryo and Ken agreed when Veemon expressed his desire to search for the one who had possessed him. He only knew of somebody who had placed him under a spell, and a certain other Digimon referred to as master. The other recollections Veemon had had been vague. Ryo deduced that the one who had placed Veemon under the spell must be a Digimon associated with magic.

Using Puttiemon's keen sense of detecting other magical Digimon, they were led to the village where Veemon remembered being at before the dark spell possessed him. They followed some tracks, and encountered a witchdoctor called Sepikmon. Sepikmon professed to be responsible for Veemon's mind enslavement, declaring it with glee when asked. He alleged working for a Digimon of powers unimaginable, and was proud of it. Angered, Veemon hastily took on Sepikmon, who beat him with ease. Puttiemon joined in the mêlée but Sepikmon knocked him down as well with some powder dusts. It was then that Ryo's blue Digivice glowed, energizing Veemon to ascend into his proper Champion form of Exveemon. The great Exveemon crushed Sepikmon, and in his dying breath Sepikmon called out for his master. Upon hearing the name, Ryo felt his heart nearly stopped upon hearing the shocking revelation.

"Lord Milleniumon!"

The battle caused Ryo and Veemon to become partners. Together they tracked down Milleniumon alongside Ken and Wormmon in a rather frenzied determination. For weeks they followed leads one after another, and battled more of Milleniumon's minions. With Exveemon's strength and Puttiemon's magic they were a strong team. Prior in meeting Milleniumon, they encountered one last obstacle: an Ultimate-level opponent by the name of Volcamon. Volcamon outclassed both Exveemon and Puttiemon, boasting of having the honor of finishing them off. Yet, when Ken and Ryo's hearts beat as one in a synchronized harmony, they had unwittingly unlocked another method of evolution - the DNA Digivolution. Exveemon and Puttiemon miraculously merged and formed Paildramon. With ease Paildramon turned the tables on Volcamon.

The final battle between Paildramon and Milleniumon then commenced. As a Mega, Milleniumon still had the upper hand. After defeating Paildramon Milleniumon made his way towards Ryo and Ken. Threatening to destroy the younger one first, Milleniumon aimed for Ken. Ken tried to plead to Milleniumon in sparing him, begging for him to show some kindness. Milleniumon however was a being void of kindness or any other positive attribute, thus he ignored young Ken's pleas for mercy. He fired a fatal attack, but in time the DigiEgg of Kindness sprung out of the device which stored it. Milleniumon's attack collided with the DigiEgg, which deflected the attack back onto its originator. Milleniumon was impaled with his own brand of attack and was unable to fight.

Before being destroyed, the DigiEgg of Kindness presented Ken with the Crest of Kindness. The crest healed and energized Paildramon back to health, and in turn Paildramon generated a phenomenal attack which destroyed Milleniumon with a spectacular explosion.

Yet, Milleniumon refused to part with the world of digital lives without a parting gift. He fired several dark seeds towards Ryo.

Ken saw the seeds coming, and pushed Ryo out of harm's way.

A feeling of excruciating pain ensued….before everything became black.

And several years later, a much older Ken Ichijouji woke up from his deep slumber, disturbed by the dream of events happening years before. He blinked momentarily, trying to remember all the details of his dream. He hadn't remembered the finer niceties of the battle, only some fragments. Yet in this dream, everything was so vivid and becoming clearer than ever. The fog which had plagued his mind ever since his parting with his Digimon Emperor persona seemed to have been lifted.

However before Ken could dwell even further into his recent dream, a series of beeping sounds coming from his Diginizer of Kindness caused him to jolt up from the bed. He accidentally knocked Wormmon to the side of the bed, waking the Rookie Digimon up. Upon Wormmon's questioning droopy eyes, Ken signaled the Diginizer.

"It looks like we're needed in the Digital World."

* * *

_**Vengeance**_

**_Chapter 35: Curiosity Kills the Catrina_**

…..

…..

"It's a Lilithmon!"

Catrina started upon hearing Nanomon's fearful exclamation. She took a few steps back upon instinct, to protect herself should she was struck. However her eyes gazed at the dark beauty that was standing in front of her…and she realized that there was nothing threatening about her that she had to be afraid of. Her trained eyes immediately saw through Lilithmon, literally, though it was not obvious upon first glance. Catrina took a few steps towards the slightly-transparent Lilithmon before running her hands through the Mega's body, and was not surprised when Lilithmon flickered as her hands ran through it.

"It's only a hologram, Nanomon."

Catrina continued to glaze over the Lilithmon hologram, taking a few steps back again to have a better view. She was fascinated, as Lilithmon was certainly a breathtaking beauty. Catrina wondered why Chaos Specter would keep a holographic image of Lilithmon hidden. It was not a trait of him to lust over female Digimon, as far as Catrina had known. It was part of the reason why she, while in her Bastemon form, would occasionally flirt with him. There must be something between master and Lilithmon, she thought. Frowning, she challenged her own speculations but was met with more questions due to that.

"She certainly is gorgeous," Nanomon commented, breaking Catrina's thought. "But I think her eyes reflected melancholy. She is beautiful, yet sad at the same time. I wonder why?"

The BlackGatomon didn't reply. As the hologram rotated slowly, Catrina too walked around the circular platform, examining the hologram. She never remembered Chaos Specter mentioning anything about a Lilithmon, so there was no connection that she could think of. However she did know that Chaos Specter never really told any of his minions of his past history, or how he came into being in the Digital World. A digital human, whom she had known of, except for Gennai and the deceased Order of the Light, was her master himself.

While she was deep in her thoughts, Nanomon moved silently towards the computer console and examined the simple machine. It was nothing like the modern, state-of-the-art equipments that were built on the other parts of the Velvet Claw, particularly the throne room. It was a basic computer, with only optic drive slots, keyboards and some buttons that seemed to serve specific functions. Naturally as a machine Digimon, the feminine Datamon wanted to use the machine but remembering her place, she turned to ask Catrina for permission.

"Miss…is it alright for me to take a look at this computer?"

"What?" Catrina called back, looking distracted. She walked towards Nanomon. "The computer? Well…since we're here, why don't we?"

Nanomon switched on the computer, and the first thing that came out from the screen was an instruction to insert a CD inside the optic drive slot. Catrina walked towards the tall CD rack and scanned the aptly-labeled jewel cases, trying to find anything that sparked her interest.

"Digital World, Epsilon-Zeta dimension?" she said as she took the said labeled jewel case.

Catrina was familiar with the Epsilon-Zeta dimension of the Digital World. It was the dimension where Chaos Specter once mentioned as the home dimension of Catrina. Chaos Specter told her that he had found her DigiEgg in an abandoned village, and had decided that since there was nobody to take care of the DigiEgg, and that it might be in danger of being deleted by the wild populaces that inhabited the dimension, Chaos Specter had decided to take care of the DigiEgg himself.

And as for the Epsilon-Zeta dimension of the Digital World, it was a Digital World ruled by three Ultimate Digimon. As the Digital World was a relatively small one, and rather peaceful with the exception of some small scuffles, nobody there had ever, or needed to, reach past Ultimate level. In fact the only ones that had attained that level were deemed of having achieved perfection, and were named as the rulers. Knightmon, Asuramon and Matadormon made up the triumvirate of leaders representing the three types of Digimon of the Epsilon-Zeta dimension and led the inhabitants there towards a peaceful life…until calamity befallen the entire dimension, wiping out the entire populace in a mere matter of one night.

Curious to know more about her inopportune home dimension, Catrina inserted the CD inside the optic drive and waited fervently as the computer read the data that came from the CD. The screen flickered to life, and Catrina marveled upon seeing how beautiful her home world had been. She was about to take a seat, when three familiar faces appeared from the screen.

"MetalGreymon, WaruSeadramon and SkullSatamon?" Catrina recognized the three as the Ultimate forms of the Chaos Generals.

Catrina then watched with building astonishment as the generals challenged the leaders of the Digital World for a one-on-one fight. The generals fought smartly, taking on the opponents in which they had more advantage upon. MetalGreymon fought Matadormon; SkullSatamon battled Knightmon while WaruSeadramon took on Asuramon. The three leaders were defeated, marking the beginning of the destruction of Epsilon-Zeta dimension. The three generals terrorized the whole small dimension, destroying each and every one of Digimon they encountered. Catrina then saw a fourth figure appearing which made her shudder.

"Master…"

Chaos Specter led the three generals in the mass destruction of the dimension, until dusk came and they reached the Primary Village. The protector of the Primary Village, a Mikemon, immediately blocked the four Digimon from entering the village of the beginnings. The small Champion feline fought bravely, but he was no match for even the generals and was thrown away. It was then Mikemon began to glow, aided by the deceased rulers of the dimension, becoming the first Digimon in that dimension to have Warp Digivolved…into a formidable SaberLeomon to protect the Primary Village from suffering the same fate as the rest of the world.

Yet even a Mega Digimon could not match the combined powers of the brazen generals of Chaos Specter. SaberLeomon was forced to watch the destruction of the village which he had sworn to protect. Every DigiEgg there was destroyed right in front of his own eyes. Feeling sad and sorrow, SaberLeomon regressed back into Mikemon and darted towards where he believed the DigiEggs could still be saved. However the generals followed him and destroyed each and every DigiEgg that Mikemon tried so hard to save. Mikemon sprinted away again and got hold of one DigiEgg, hidden behind a toy block, and dug a hole to hide it out of desperation.

"I hope that you will survive this destruction, little one…and one day you will rise to avenge the death of our great rulers, the entire populace of our world, your fellow unborn brothers and sisters, and…me," Mikemon said sadly, sending shivers to Catrina's spine.

Mikemon left the DigiEgg half-buried when he heard the generals coming, and led them away from the only DigiEgg that had survived the mass destruction. Catrina continued to watch the video with growing suspicion of the fate of the DigiEgg, and felt sorrow when she saw Mikemon being slaughtered by SkullSatamon brutally. Then to her horror, Chaos Specter walked straight towards the spot where Mikemon had buried the DigiEgg, and found it. She had a suspicion of what would happen next, and waited with a feeling of dread.

Chaos Specter bent down and picked up the DigiEgg.

"Please let me be wrong…"

The DigiEgg hatched, and a SnowBotamon popped out innocently onto Chaos Specter's hands.

"No…This can't be…I don't…I can't…"

Catrina bolted out from the hidden chamber, a mixed feeling of anguish and betrayal welled up inside of her. Tears fell freely from her eyes as she made a beeline towards her own room. She had never expected to find out that her master was the one responsible for the destruction of her own world. But then again, why should she be surprised, as her master was the inter-dimensional Digital World conqueror? She just could not accept the fact that her own world too suffered the same fate. She had been deceived.

And as she made her ways to her own room, inside her head Mikemon's parting request kept playing inside her mind over and over again.

* * *

Back in the deserts near Machine City, the titanic battle between Milleniumon and Veldusmon had been going on for half an hour and still it hadn't reached farther than a stalemate. Veldusmon, the combined form of Chaos Specter's warrior and bestial dark spirits, gave his all against Milleniumon. He had cast a minor sandstorm by flapping his buzzard wings, hoping to obscure Milleniumon's sight. Seeing that Milleniumon did not retaliate, Veldusmon kept his act while energizing his hands to deliver his second attack – by firing two streams of dark flames and ice from his black skull-endowed knuckles.

The flames and ices surrounded Milleniumon, burning and freezing him at the same time. Laughing, seeing that Milleniumon couldn't seem to keep up with his attacks, Veldusmon gathered more strength and increased the intensity of his attacks. The streams became beams of tremendous power, and Veldusmon marveled upon the sight of Milleniumon's shocked expression. It was obvious that his effort was fruitful; Milleniumon was in pain.

"You are certainly strong as they say you are, Chaos Specter…but I cannot be beaten this easily!"

Sensing that perhaps he had underestimated Milleniumon's power, Veldusmon roared for his Chaos Generals to help him. Chaos Piedmon, Chaos Seadramon and Chaosdramon instantly jumped in their master's aid, attacking Milleniumon from various sides.

"Ah, how quaint! Even the rabbles have decided to join in their master's _pitiful_ attempt on my life! Yet, I no longer feel that I want to keep this up."

"We'll see how you feel when you are captured with my Chaos Rings!" Veldusmon called out, and instantly seven Chaos Rings materialized in a flash of green light. "Capture Milleniumon!"

"Tsk, tsk… I shan't fall for that again," Milleniumon sneered. "Time Unlimited!"

Instantly the whole area flashed with violet lights, coming from Milleniumon's menacing eyes. To Veldusmon's horror, everything had stopped dead around him. The Chaos Rings froze in midair, while he and his generals were immobilized.

Veldusmon tried to move his arms and legs, but his efforts seemed to bear little result. Waves of green and violet seemed to contradict each other as Veldusmon attempted to use his own power to cancel out Milleniumon's hold on him. Then another bright flash ensued, and Veldusmon slumped onto the ground, de-Digivolved back into Chaos Specter. He heaved his breathings slowly, feeling strangely weak.

"You are stronger than what I have expected, for a human," Milleniumon jeered. "Your minions, Mega level as they are, cannot escape the effect of my Time Unlimited. Perhaps it is because that you are not a Digimon, that my attack cannot hold you for long?"

"A weakness you shouldn't expose," Chaos Specter spat as he stood, calling up his serpent staff.

"Pah! What harm could a mere _human_ do to me? You are of no significance, and I shall prove it to you. Watch."

By merely flicking his long arms upwards, all the Chaos Rings exploded in bits of data particles. Seeing Chaos Specter's expression of disbelief, Milleniumon roared with laughter.

"Why…perhaps you are wondering why the Digiranium liquid metal that you have embedded on those rings has no effect on me? It is relatively simple; actually…I am affected, or was, now that the rings are destroyed. But, affected as I was I still can fight relatively well. Now, I can see that you are going to try contradicting my answer. After all, weren't the four Harmonious Ones affected severely by the rings? Why, I am much, much, STRONGER than any of them…though it is thanks to you that I will not have to worry about them anymore. Combined, perhaps they are a match to me. But on one-on-one, even the strongest of them all, the great Zhuqiaomon, cannot hope to match my strength!"

"You've given too much away now, Milleniumon," Chaos Specter sneered back. "Perhaps you've forgotten the fact that I hold the key to release the Harmonious Ones against you?"

Milleniumon snorted. "I look forward on that day, actually. I have not the chance to test my power against the four of them combined. But my ZeedMilleniumon form should suffice against them. I have nothing to be afraid of. But enough about me…how about now, I prove to you to not mess with me?"

Before Chaos Specter could answer, suddenly Chaos Seadramon howled and hissed in what sounded like a pain beyond belief. His metallic serpentine body glimmered with blue aura as he writhed and trashed about. Chaos Specter thought that somehow Chaos Seadramon had managed to escape Milleniumon's clutch as well, but he soon was proved to be horrendously wrong.

"Your snake is strong and very loyal…" Milleniumon mused. "I wonder what will happen should you lose him?"

"Don't you dare!" Chaos Specter hissed venomously, Milleniumon's intention dawned onto him.

"Oh, but I do. And there is nothing that you can do that can stop me. Goodbye, Chaos Seadramon!"

Before Chaos Specter could stop him, Milleniumon flicked his right arm and in a mere matter of a second, Chaos Seadramon exploded into bits of data. His blue data particles swirled around Milleniumon's long arm, but Milleniumon merely flicked his arm again somewhat lazily, refusing to take Chaos Seadramon's data.

"One down, two to go…how about the clown now? I have always hated jesters."

Chaos Piedmon's eyes shot out wide, but it was down to his luck that a strong crimson beam jetted straight from behind him, catching Milleniumon's arm before the dark Digimon could do his deed. And somehow, it was just his stroke of luck once again that Milleniumon's hold on him and Chaosdramon was suddenly lifted.

Surprised, Chaos Specter looked at the distance where the crimson beam came from. He could make out a massive pink dragon coming from the horizon. Not wanting to remain there any longer, Chaos Specter shot a look at Milleniumon, who was grazing his burnt arm onto the sands to put the fire out.

"The day will come," he vowed, before in a glitter of violet lights he and his remaining two generals vanished from sight.

* * *

Magnadramon – the fused Mega form of d'Arcmon, Piddomon and Angemon – led Wargreymon, Paildramon, Dinobeemon, MagnaAngemon, Angewomon, Sylphimon and Valthrumon towards the battlefield as soon as they were teleported a few kilometers away from Machine City. For a moment they were stunned to see Milleniumon's absolute cruelty in deleting Chaos Seadramon. Against the wishes of some of the DigiDestined, Magnadramon released a powerful torrent of his Fire Tornado to stop Milleniumon from killing Chaos Piedmon as well.

The eight of them soon reached Milleniumon. Tai got down from Magnadramon and stood beside Wargreymon, while the other DigiDestined stood in a line, bracing themselves against the upcoming fight with Milleniumon.

"Ah, DigiDestined…" Milleniumon drawled. "How _enthralling_ to see you again. Though this is not our first encounter, I believe there are some fresh faces around here. Surely you are surprised, are you not, Tai? You think Omnimon could put me away for long? Well, you are severely wrong. And Ken…it's so nice to see you alive and kicking. How has the Dark Spore been treating you?"

Dinobeemon gritted his teeth in anger. "It has been extracted."

"Really? Shame. It could give you many means to achieve greatness, Ken." Milleniumon laughed evilly. "But of course, a child of Kindness can never hold such dark power for long."

"Enough!" Paildramon roared. "What have you done to our friends?"

"Ohh…the rookie-made-leader, I see. Cocky, arrogant, a quality trait I see among the leaders, no doubt. Well, your friends are safe for now…no need to worry." Milleniumon then crooned his head forward to take a closer look at the DigiDestined. "A Magnadramon, yet I sense three different personalities inside the body. A Paildramon, I sense that while I have never met the human behind the mask, I surely sense an aura of familiarity in the Digimon that compassed the half of the body. But I have no interest in you. A Dinobeemon…your weak Wormmon has finally able to Digivolve to Ultimate level? MagnaAngemon, Angewomon and Wargreymon, we meet again, though I actually hope to see you three and Dinobeemon inside my green dome as well…but it shall all be in due time, no? And…hmm, the last two of you are unique, I have never seen a female Silphymon before. And you…why, a Valthrumon is absolutely a rarity."

"Let our friends go!" Dinobeemon demanded.

"Surely, you already know the answer to that, Ken," Milleniumon replied calmly. "But…I shall make a deal with you. Defeat me, and your friends shall walk free. Be defeated, and you see there? Machine City…once a glorious home to various mechanical Digimon, shall be NO MORE, and your precious friends shall be mine."

"No deals!" Magnadramon shouted. "Fire Tornado!"

"So this is the simpleton that has lost me my prey," Milleniumon said silkily, slapping the beam of fire away, causing it to be redirected towards the Machine City. An explosion ensued over the remains of the city before Magnadramon stopped his attack. "Oops. Looks like you have destroyed more of the city than me. And as for messing up my plan…Dimension Destroyer!"

Magnadramon was hit at close range by Milleniumon's powerful cannons, and devolved back into his three composite selves.

Wargreymon stepped forward and released his Terra Force towards Milleniumon, but the dark Digimon avoided the attack. He then froze Wargreymon in place, and slashed the warrior Digimon severely, causing him to devolve as well to Agumon. Tai quickly made a beeline to grab Agumon, rolling on the sandy ground to avoid Milleniumon's long appendage from grabbing him. He caught Agumon's claws and was about to make a run for it before Milleniumon put a stop into it.

"Ah…one more pair for my collections!" Milleniumon grabbed both Tai and Agumon and threw them inside the dome. "Now I have six DigiDestined and six Digimon! Dinobeemon, MagnaAngemon and Angewomon…watch out. You three are next in line."

"Not if I can help it!" Paildramon flew forward. "Desperado Blaster!"

"Hell Masquerade!" Dinobeemon followed, splitting himself into three. Each fired streams of poisonous needles towards Milleniumon.

Angewomon flew upwards and aimed an arrow of light, while MagnaAngemon energized his knuckle. Together they shot the Celestial Arrow and the Hand of Fate. Their attacks were joined by a crimson energy ball from Sylphimon and several clay bombs from Valthrumon. The six attacks from the DigiDestined were about to merge together to form one strong attack, when Milleniumon's eyes shone with eerie green light and suddenly, everything around him was stopped in motion as well.

"I win," Milleniumon said softly, and willed the six attacks to be redirected back towards their originators. Six explosions followed.

One by one, the Transdigivolved DigiDestined devolved back into their composite selves and fell onto the sandy grounds. It was lucky that they were in the desert; the large mounds of sands spared them from the pain they would've suffered should they fell onto more solid grounds. The freezing effect from Milleniumon was lost once they were hit by their own attacks, but it had left them helpless and weak.

"Poor simpleton fools. All of you are really naïve fools, thinking you can defeat me…ME…the ultimate form of evil! Well, though I'd love to have the six of you as part of my collections, but on second thought, no…I'd rather enjoy seeing all of you DIE!" Milleniumon let out a loud mocking burst of laughter as he moved closer to the lying forms of Ken and Wormmon. "Shall we begin with the destruction of the duo of Kindness; it shall serve as a perfect revenge for that trick you managed to pull off last time…"

"KEN!" Yolei screamed. "Get out of there!"

"Can't…" Ken groaned, watching in fear as Milleniumon was about to stamp his foot onto him.

Yet, as fate had decided to intervene once again, Milleniumon was not successful when a surge of electricity came from the sky, electrocuting him on the arms and legs. Milleniumon was forced to draw back from attacking Ken and Wormmon.

"Who dares to attack ME!" he roared, looking up above the sky.

There, within the clouds, a figure robed in dark crimson descended down slowly and landed on the tip of the highest heap of sand nearby. The heap of sands didn't seem to be affected by the newcomer's weight, suggesting that he or she possessed a limited ability of flight. It was impossible for anybody to discern the identity of the newcomer, as the face was covered by a hood. And against the moonlight which was directly above the stranger, shadows were cast beneath the hood, obscuring the face even further.

"You, stranger, identify yourself!" Milleniumon demanded.

"Aww…Milleniumon, surely you haven't forgotten all about _us_," two dual voices replied confidently from beneath the hood.

Milleniumon started slightly upon hearing the voices. "YOU…."

"Well, glad to see that you remembered after all."

After letting a couple of seconds passed, the stranger pulled down the hood, revealing a face covered by a shining metallic helmet, which seemed to glitter against the moonlight. The helmet was almost similar to Angemon or Angewomon's helmet, but lacked the intricate design and jewels. Beneath the helmet, unlike the angels whose lower half of their faces were revealed, was another white mask lined with blue at the sides and on the chin, covering the lower half of his face.

"That voice is really familiar," Kari said thoughtfully, looking at the tall blonde beside her. "It sounds like him…do you remember, TK?"

TK nodded. "I remember. It's that boy who helped free us from Milleniumon's castle. Ryo…Akiyama."

Ken, weakness forgotten, immediately shot up from the ground. He looked closely at the stranger. "Ryo?"

The stranger acknowledged with a wave of his hand, and undid the clasp which held his red robe on place. He threw the robe away, revealing a heroic figure in blue suit with white trims. White armor protected his broad chest, shoulders, abdomen and extremities. His right arm was different; instead of a normal arm, it was fully mechanical. Lastly, a long red scarf was tied around his neck, blowing along with the winds, completing his gallant outlook.

"We're Ryo and Cyberdramon, Biomerged. You can call us Justimon."

Milleniumon, frustrated beyond belief, shot hastily towards Justimon. Justimon jumped down, narrowly avoiding Milleniumon's energy spheres. He landed not far from the DigiDestined, and as Milleniumon fired several more energy balls and beams toward him, Justimon had to avoid them by making several back and forward flips as he reached closer towards the DigiDestined. Then, as Milleniumon stopped Justimon seized the chance to retaliate with an attack of his own.

"Justice Burst!"

The electrical surge that came with the attack paralyzed Milleniumon momentarily. Justimon knelt towards Ken and helped him up.

"Ryo…how did you--"

"I'll explain later, we gotta go NOW!" Justimon insisted. "Come on."

"But what about Tai and the others? We have to rescue them!" Davis protested.

"Stay here and we'll never get a chance to do that. We have to retreat, and regroup."

The DigiDestined, their Digimon and the three angels immediately got up, and began to run as far away as they could. They tried punching on the teleportation buttons on their Diginizers, but to their horror the teleportation button didn't work. Their Diginizers were malfunctioning at the wrong moment.

"Oh no!" Cody exclaimed. "Mine's not working!"

"What do we do now?" Yolei panicked.

"The traditional way…RUN!" Veemon shouted.

Everyone immediately paid heed to the little dragon's shout and followed suit. They headed towards the ruins of Machine City, planning to seek refuge there.

Milleniumon however, wasn't going to let the DigiDestined got away like what Chaos Specter and his minions did. He energized his cannons and fired his biggest attack towards them, hoping to kill all of them at one go. He didn't care that Justimon was actually Ryo; he just wanted to eliminate everyone before they had the chance to regroup and attack him later on. His Dimension Destroyer cannonballs streaked past the desert plains, aiming towards his enemies…when suddenly bright white light engulfed them wholly. The cannonballs however shot past through the white light and towards Machine City, while the good guys were no longer anywhere in sight.

That night, the remains of Machine City was gone without a trace. Milleniumon had claimed his part of the deal.

* * *

Chaos Specter leaned slowly against the back of his throne. The outcome of the day's battle was not what he had expected. He had never foreseen Chaos Seadramon's untimely deletion under the hands of Milleniumon. The event left him shaken. Milleniumon had proven to be far stronger than any of them alone or combined. It didn't even look like he had put in any effort to fight him and his generals.

Both Chaos Piedmon and Chaosdramon, his remaining Chaos Generals, were inside their own chambers recuperating. Chaos Specter shuddered once again, remembering that if it weren't for the timely interruption they had gotten from the DigiDestined, perhaps even Chaos Piedmon would be deleted. It would leave him with the least experienced Chaosdramon. While not incompetent, Chaos Specter generally favored his two elder generals as he had trained them since they were young.

He was going to close his eyes to have a bit of rest when he heard delicate footsteps coming from the throne room's entrance. Sitting up, he cocked his head towards the entrance and saw Catrina, in her Bastemon form, walked in slowly. Beside her a Nanomon trotted along, and while Catrina made her way straight towards the throne, Nanomon turned towards the computer panels and stood silently a few meters away from the other Datamon. She then had her eyes fixed on Catrina.

"Why, Catrina," Chaos Specter relaxed, leaning back to his throne. "Why are you in your Ultimate form? Were you in a battle?"

Catrina snorted, and glared upwards towards Chaos Specter. Green flames seemed to blaze with fury inside her eyes. There was no mistaking that Catrina was furious. Chaos Specter had seen it before, but somehow, he had gotten a gut feeling that her anger now was directed solely towards…him.

"I have seen forrr myself, how you've taken me in from the dimension Epsilon-Zeta, rrrowww," Catrina hissed slowly. "I've found yourrr hidden chamber, rrrowww."

This started Chaos Specter. Nobody was supposed to know about the hidden chamber. "What have you discovered?"

"You lied to me. You've told me that a calamity had destroyed my dimension wholly, and that I was the only sole survivorrrrr. Howeverrrr, it turrrns out that YOU are the so-called calamity!"

Chaos Specter shot up from his throne. He was surprised and began to feel anger upon hearing the accusations. "How did you get in there? You are not supposed to know about that chamber. It's MY private chamber!"

Catrina smirked. "It's a good thing I found it, otherrrwise I won't know that you've LIED to me."

"I will not be talked to in such a manner. Alright, it's true that I have destroyed Epsilon-Zeta. But I've given you much, much more in return. You have gained a place in my army. You have great powers, thanks to my training. Should you remain there, do you think that you could achieve your Ultimate form now?"

"I don't care!" Catrina snapped back. "I've had enough of this. I'm not going to follow you arrround again! I won't be yourrr pet anymorrre, rrrowww. You should just find yourself a Lilithmon to become one instead, forrr all I care. I KNOW for a fact that you fancied herrr! Maybe you even lust overrr herrr! What's with the holo-.."

"Don't TALK about Lilithmon that way!" Chaos Specter thundered, losing his temper quickly after hearing Catrina's snide remark. Out of anger he accidentally aimed his serpent staff towards Catrina, and fired two streaks of purple beams towards the unsuspecting Bastemon. Catrina was thrown towards the console and slumped down onto the ground. Chaos Specter was surprised of what he'd done and quickly regretted his harsh act. "Oh no! Catrina…are you alright?"

Catrina got up silently, and Chaos Specter saw that trickles of blood trailed out from her mouth. Her face no longer reflected the anger she had demonstrated a while ago. Now it was replaced by a solemn, determined look. Her eyes now hard and cold, losing their sparks which Chaos Specter was so familiar of looking at.

"Nanomon, get me and yourself out of this place. I don't even want to see his face everrrr again!"

"As you wish, miss!"

Nanomon instantly knocked away the Datamon that had been working on the console with the teleportation function. She keyed in several codes quickly and before the other Datamon could get up to stop her, Catrina turned and blasted all of them away with torrents of orange energy bats. Soon, white lights engulfed both Ultimate female Digimon and they vanished, leaving a very dumbfounded Chaos Specter and several malfunctioning Datamon.

Chaos Specter slumped down on his seat, thinking of what had just happened. Scanning the damaged Datamon, Chaos Specter groaned out of frustration and blasted all of them away with his serpent staff. He shouted loudly, out of anger and grief for his losses of the day. Black aura seemed to glow out from his body as he shouted, and remained glowing until Chaos Specter had calmed down completely. As the aura vanished, Chaos Specter got up from his throne and walked down the stairs.

"Chaos-AI, set the Velvet Claw on auto pilot. I will retire for the night."

* * *

…..

…..

Author's Note:

Correction I: I've fixed the last line that contains that jumbled-up sentence. Didn't notice it when I looked through it using Ms Word, must be FFnet's editing features causing it. Thanks to Dark Qiviut for pointing that mistake out.

Correction II: I edited some parts of the opening chapter which stated that Ken's Digivice is a D3. That sentence has been deleted. Thanks to DTV for pointing that out.

I'm sure all of you could see Ryo coming. And I'm really glad that all of you enjoyed the previous chapter. It was really a difficult chapter to write. I wanted an opening for Milleniumon to make his debut on this story.

And speaking of an opening, the opening for this chapter may sound…redundant, compared to the storyline, but actually I have plans on writing Ryo and Ken's adventures with Milleniumon as a separate story. It was way before I started Vengeance and Legends of the DigiDestined, but seeing that I'm going to be so busy with my two fics, and the upcoming sequel for Vengeance (which may not be written until Legends reached three-quarters towards the end), I have decided to narrate the whole story into a compact opening chapter. Lots of details have been left out but I think it would suffice, as Ryo's going to be starring in this story as well, at least until Milleniumon's gone.

I don't think there's actually any harm of replying to reviews, so I'm replying again from now on.

**_Dark Qiviut _**– Thank you. Really, you really are raising my spirits up to write more and better. Hopefully this chapter does not disappoint.

**_Bluesv20_** – Now why am I getting a deja-vu after reading your review there? And to reply to your previous review, yes, Valthrumon is created to fit in the gap between Ankylomon and Vikemon.

**_Jack the ripper_** – Shocking indeed.

**_Yami Vizzini_** – Yeah, I wondered about that too. But it's no problem. And the Lilithmon is not Catrina's namesake, I can give you that.

**_Quinton Notwen_** – The mysterious figure is…Justimon. :)

**_Arking_** – There will be something of that sort. The four guardians will play a part very soon.

**_Dark672 – _**Short and sweet comment, thanks.

**_Gerjomarty – _**Catrina's going on to have her own adventures from now on, as you can see from this fic. I enjoy writing about her too, and yes, I also think that she brings out the best in Chaos Specter, though now, I'm not so sure. The secret room does contain an archive of Chaos Specter's past, but I've chosen to exclude it from this chapter as not to spoil Legends. But…I really think that future chapters will spoil Legends anyway, but until then… And as for your previous review, the birthday party will be after several chapters. According to the timeline, Cody's tournament happens on Sunday, and the night when the DigiDestined are kidnapped are still on Sunday, and this chapter happens in between Sunday and Monday. The birthday party will be on Wednesday.

And to reply to some reviewers of **Reliable Knowledge, part III**

**_Change in heart – _**Well, yes, there are some connection between those two.

**_CustomMagnum - _**There will be, and that's what I'm afraid of. It will spoil my other story. I have to be really careful not to give a lot away.

**_The anonymous reviewer – _**Those are big names in the Digimon fan-fiction world. And as for your question…no, there will be no Takari, or Daikari. I really think of TK and Davis as Kari's best friends, though I enjoy reading both Takari and Daikari stories.


	37. Power Play

**Previously on Vengeance:** Chaos Seadramon is killed by the ruthless Milleniumon, forcing Chaos Specter and the remaining generals to leave. The DigiDestined arrive at the scene and battle Milleniumon as well, but with his time manipulation ability Milleniumon gets the upper hand and forces the Transdigivolved DigiDestined to devolve. The Dark Deity of Time then makes attempt on Ken and Wormmon's lives, but is stopped when a mystery figure decides to intervene. It's Justimon – who is actually Ryo Akiyama and his partner merged. Justimon distracts Milleniumon, allowing the DigiDestined to retreat. In the meantime, Catrina finds out the truth about her origin and leaves the Velvet Claw after confronting Chaos Specter.

* * *

"I can't believe we got beaten like that!" Davis said moodily as he took a sit on the medic-table after Cody. He thrust his fist in the air in frustration.

"Easy, Davis," HolyAngemon said gently, and raised his palm. White aura shimmered brightly from HolyAngemon's hand and enveloped Davis's wounds, beginning to heal them.

The heroes and their new ally, Justimon, were about to be destroyed by Milleniumon's fatal blast when in the nick of time, Gennai managed to track their coordinates and teleport all of them back to the safety of the Asuka Laboratory. Half an hour had passed since then, and HolyAngemon took the duty of healing all of them one by one.

Ken and Wormmon were sitting at the corner of the lab, where the plush sofas were. Ken was talking with a tall, tan boy with spiked brown hair. The boy was wearing a grey shirt and army green trousers under a leather-brown weapon holder strapped around his waist. His right shoulder was protected by a metal shoulder pad, and a metallic arm guard armored his lower arm. A red bandanna was strapped around his neck. Beside the older boy, a tall Digimon armored with grey and black from top to toe stood by silently. The Digimon had a draconian look, judging from the shape of his head and his long tail. He had two pairs of tattered crimson wings. He was growling softly, but it was enough to make Wormmon wary of him.

"How long have you been here, Ryo?" Ken asked.

Ryo thought for a while before answering. "I've been tracking Milleniumon here for a couple of days now. Cyberdramon can sense Milleniumon's signal all the way from our world." Noting Ken's questioning look, Ryo immediately continued, "It's because he is actually… part Milleniumon."

Ken and Wormmon exchanged looks momentarily before looking back at Ryo. Those were looks of understanding, not bewilderment, which surprised Ryo.

"You don't seem to be surprised," he noted curiously.

"We've heard the whole story. I think your idea is brilliant, trapping Milleniumon inside a Rookie Digimon."

"Well, it did have some repercussion to get used to, but we've gotten the hang of it. It's a whole lot easier after we Biomerged, as Cyberdramon's no longer as feral as he was before."

"Biomerge?" Ken asked, confused.

"Isn't that what they call it here?"

"You mean, merging with our Digimon? It's called Transdigivolution here."

Ryo shrugged. "To each his own…"

Both were silent for a moment. The truth was, while they were best friends several years ago, many years had passed and Ken had experienced many other things. Ryo was his first friend, and they were as close as brothers could be, but three years had passed ever since. Now that they met again, both felt rather awkward with each other. For Ken, it was the suddenness of the situation. And for Ryo…Ken was no longer the young child he used to know.

Seconds passed in a hanging silence before Ken cleared his throat. "You know, we didn't even get to say goodbye before. When I woke up, you were already gone."

Ryo's calm look faltered instantly. "I wanted to stay longer, Ken…but…."

Ken raised a hand to interrupt Ryo, and gave him a reassuring smile. "It's alright, Ryo. I know the whole story."

Ryo looked a whole lot relieved as he leaned back a little against the plush sofa. "But you know, if I could stay until you wake up, I would. I wanted to thank you for saving my neck that time. And I still do," he insisted. He looked at Ken intently. "So…was everything ok? Did the spore hurt you or anything?"

Ken considered momentarily for an answer. The Dark Spore had changed his life forever. It was the trigger that led him to slowly succumb to the dark side. Meeting Duskmon, trapping Jewelbeemon inside the Cave of Illusions to obtain the prophecy of time, donning the Digimon Emperor's garb, Kimeramon, and destroying hundreds of Digimon's lives…he shuddered as his eyes met Wormmon's. Deleting Wormmon was the most awful experience, but it was also the trigger to turn him back to the side of light.

But the Dark Spore's upshot spanned even farther than that. Both Daemon and Myotismon then went after him for the spore's power. Myotismon manipulated Yukio Oikawa to make copies of the Dark Spore and made him insert the spores inside innocent children to gain powers in order to ascend into his true Mega form of MaloMyotismon and to dominate both the human and the digital worlds. Daemon and his minions went all the way to get to Ken personally, wiping out every obstacle that crossed their ways. However, Daemon's true motive of wanting the Dark Spore still remained a shrouded mystery.

"Your welcome; and it's really quite a long story," he said finally. "But the spore has already been extracted." Ken decided to keep the rest of the story from Ryo in order not to worry him.

Ryo studied Ken for a brief moment, deciding whether to believe him or not as Ken looked hesitant before replying. He decided not to pursue the matter. "What's important is that you are ok. I don't think I could forgive myself if anything bad happened to you from that Spore. You took the blow that was meant for _me_."

Let's hope that you'll never find out, Ken thought grimly. "Don't blame yourself; it wasn't your fault to begin with. So don't worry about it, ok?"

Ryo didn't answer. Instead, he turned to look at Wormmon. "I see that you've done some heavy-duty activities all these while. Your Ultimate form is, well…intimidating. But it's cool, in a way."

Wormmon beamed. "Oh…well, I owe it all to Ken for believing in me," he said happily. Then, he added, "You know, I always knew that we'd meet again, Ryo."

Ryo smiled and ruffled Wormmon's head. "Still the same ol' Wormmon."

"Umm…guys?"

Interrupted, both Ryo and Ken turned to see Gennai, with the other DigiDestined behind him, peering at them curiously. TK waved at Ryo and the Tamer waved back. Kari merely looked down and merely acknowledged Ryo with a nod, uncharacteristically shy to meet his eyes. Davis, Yolei and Cody were interested of getting acquainted with the handsome Digimon Tamer, but before they could ask anything Gennai was quick to cut them off.

"Ryo, DigiDestined…you all can get acquainted tomorrow. But for now, it's important for you to have your rest. I suggest that you spend the night here, but if you'd rather go home…"

"I won't go back until Tai and the rest are saved," Kari said quickly.

TK nodded. "Same goes for me."

"We'll ALL stay for the night, until we rescue our friends," Davis declared, with Yolei, Cody and Ken nodding.

Ryo stood up. "Cyberdramon and I will be here until we are sure that Milleniumon's gone. Until then, we could really use a place to stay. Free-of-charge is always a plus."

Gennai nodded with a brief flicker of smile. He was used to Ryo's casual manner back when the boy was younger, and was glad to see that he hadn't change. "Then it's settled."

* * *

_**Vengeance**_

**_Chapter 36: Power Play_**

…..

…..

In a vast arid region unknown, the land was dry and barren. Cracks could be seen all over the rocky ground, indicating that there was no water in the nearby vicinity. No plants or vegetations grew from the land. And within the dark sky of the morning where splashes of red and blue decorated the horizon, two streaks of white light darted across the sky and landed on the ground, revealing none other than Catrina the Bastemon, and her tiny companion Nanomon.

"Where in the worrrld arre we?" Catrina wondered out loud. She stepped a few paces gingerly while noting the dryness of the land.

"If I am not mistaken, miss, we are currently at the western quadrant of the East Sector," Nanomon replied quickly. "It was the last thing I saw on the Velvet Claw's control panel when I have finished typing some random coordinates. I thought that this place is far enough from the master."

Catrina sighed. "Verrry well. This is as far as it gets forrr now. Let's go find us some drinks now. I am thirsty."

"Certainly, miss. I detect that there is a small tavern several meters east. I can also detect some Digimon being present there, despite the earliness. We can probably get some drinks for us, though I wonder whether they have any oil for me."

Catrina laughed. "I doubt it. But let's go there."

The two of them walked towards the direction pinpointed by Nanomon, and true enough after a couple of minutes walking they saw a small tavern, with some cacti growing at the back of the old western-looking building. The windows were lit dimly, and pale yellow light came out from the exposed doorway, which was only fixed with the typical saloon type of doors which covered only the middle one-third of the otherwise exposed doorway. Rowdy laughter could be heard emanating through the doorway.

"The Old West Tavern. Proprietor: Digitamamon," Nanomon said, reading the dusty sign spreading above the doorway.

"Sounds like a happy place," Catrina said dryly.

Catrina pushed the wooden door open and entered the establishment while Nanomon merely slid under the door. Immediately the crowd inside went silent, their attentions instantly drawn towards the two Digimon. The abrupt standstill gave Catrina the opportunity to scan her surroundings. On the nearest table sat a group of three scruffy Digimon, each had a glass of liquid with smokes coming out from it. They consisted of a viral WereGarurumon, with brown fur that seemed to be unwashed for a long time. The canine Ultimate Digimon was accompanied by an orange cartoonish-looking dog, who Catrina noted with displeasure, was drooling as it leered towards her. She furrowed her eyebrows and looked at the other companion of the Shadow WereGarurumon, who was a Black Gargomon. The Shadow WereGarurumon stared at her, obviously recognizing a new face coming into the tavern, while the Black Gargomon was indifferent. The rabbit-dog hybrid merely snorted at his Doggymon companion and bunked him with his Gattling-engrafted arm. Catrina shot the trio a disgusted look which merited a sneer from the vile-looking werewolf. The werewolf then puckered up his shaggy lips to infuriate Catrina even further, causing the queen of the cats to look away in revulsion.

Darting her eyes towards the other table, Catrina saw a Witchmon on her own, playing with her tarot cards. She seemed to be oblivious of Catrina's presence. On the table beside her was a tall white-armored Digimon with an aura of gallantry coming from him, that Catrina felt that perhaps she was not the only one that was out of place. His clear brown eyes, which reflected wisdom, stared at Catrina and to her surprise she felt a sense of warmness creeping up her cheeks. Hastily she drew her glance away towards the opposite side of the tavern, where a group of armor-level insect Digimon were watching her every move with placid expressions – and multicolored chips were scattered all over the table they were occupying. Near the counter, which all seats were currently vacant, was a dusty old piano and a defeated-looking Alraumon sitting on the stool in front of it was definitely the player.

Catrina and Nanomon marched straight towards the counter where a Digitamamon was looking at her expectantly. Catrina helped Nanomon up before sitting on one of the stool. As soon as she sat, everybody went about their businesses once again. And personally Catrina was relieved to hear some piano music mixed with shouts coming from the Armor insects' table – they were obviously gambling and calling on bets on each other.

"So…what do you want?" Digitamamon demanded irritably.

"Now you sound just like a rrrotten egg," Catrina admonished.

"Now see here, I don't usually take cheek from anybody…"

"Ok, ok…just give me the house's specialty."

Digitamamon stared at her warily before replying gruffly, "Coming right up."

"And I'll have…" Nanomon began, but was stopped off her track when all of a sudden Digitamamon jumped on the counter, glaring at her angrily.

"I don't serve tin cans like you!" he yelled before jumping back down, and towards the kitchen. His rudeness surprised both females.

Catrina eyed the kitchen door angrily, "What's his prrroblem? I'm just going to have to give him a piece of my mind! Obviously he's not a morning person but that doesn't give him the rrright to be rrrotten!" She was about to stand up when Nanomon stopped her.

"It is alright, miss," Nanomon said. "As soon as you have your drink we can look for some oil."

Catrina raised an eyebrow, calming down slightly. "Deal."

Suddenly Catrina noticed that the scruffy canine trio which she ignored earlier came up to the counter to join her. Black Gargomon took the third seat from where Catrina was sitting, while Doggymon climbed up the counter and to Catrina's disgust, began drooling again as he peered closer to Catrina. But what shocked her the most when she felt a strong grip on her left wrist.

"What's a pretty little girl like you doing here on this kind of place?" Shadow WereGarurumon said in a deep voice. His yellow eyes reflected menace as he took in Catrina's beautiful features with an evil sneer, revealing his dirty yellow fangs. "You know, you're such a sight for sore eyes. It's not often that a beauty such as you come by this darker side of the sector. How about after you have your drink, maybe you and I…" He smiled suggestively, didn't even bothering to finish his hanging sentence.

Catrina however got the hint. She glared at Shadow WereGarurumon angrily and tried to pull away her arm from the werewolf's clutch, while struggling desperately to block the dour odor that came from him with her other arm. She did one thing that she could think of on impulse; using her free arm she clawed Shadow WereGarurumon's face viciously, drawing blood from the scratch marks. This caused Shadow WereGarurumon to release her immediately, but Catrina's attack didn't seem to faze him. However her action seemed to have once again drawn the attention of the other visitors of the tavern; even the Witchmon was now looking at her serenely with her blue eyes.

"Don't you darrre touch me, rrrowww," Catrina hissed.

"Ohh… a feisty little wildcat now are you? So what if I dare to touch you again? So what? You'll scratch me to death?" Shadow WereGarurumon countered. He wetted the tips of his fingers and wiped the blood with them. "Scratches like these can't hurt me for long."

"What do you want?" Catrina demanded.

"So, the kitty cat likes to play innocent now does she? Well…you know what I want," Shadow WereGarurumon said.

"Yah! Yah! Yah! Kitty cat!" Doggymon shouted, jumping up and down excitedly, spraying drools all over Catrina.

"Ugh! Grrross!" Catrina yelled, and slapped Doggymon away from her, sending the orange mutt crashing onto Shadow WereGarurumon, who easily caught him with one hand.

"Doggymon always give this kind of impression towards others," Shadow WereGarurumon continued, ignoring Doggymon's whimpers. He threw the small mutt towards Black Gargomon and took one step towards Catrina, who was obviously repulsed by him. He inhaled Catrina's scent and inspected her with a snicker. "So, what do you say?"

"Stay away from me!" Catrina shouted, pushing Shadow WereGarurumon away. "Do you know that you smell worse than a Numemon?"

Shadow WereGarurumon looked amused and raised an arm, pretending to smell his armpit. He laughed scornfully. "Well, I am surprised that you know how a Numemon smell…but yes, I haven't taken any bath for twenty years now." At this, Black Gargomon let out a quiet chuckle while Catrina looked even more revolted than before.

"I said, stay away!"

Shadow WereGarurumon caught Catrina's arm again and pulled her from her seat and closer towards him. "You didn't exactly give me the _right _answer for my question."

Catrina shot a glare of hatred towards Shadow WereGarurumon and pulled herself away by jumping, and kicked Shadow WereGarurumon squarely on the chest. The black werewolf was definitely surprised as he was thrown onto his buddies.

"Well, seems like you're not just a pretty face after all. You are well-trained for fighting," Black Gargomon noted with a quiet voice. It was the first time he spoke and Catrina noticed that unlike Shadow WereGarurumon, who was brash and revolting, Black Gargomon was calmer and his tone was more serious.

"Don't underestimate me. I'm not just any Digimon…I was in the Chaos Forces!"

Catrina's declaration was met with some loud gasps from the other patrons of the tavern. She was glad that her declaration had that kind of effect, although she had vowed not to have any connection with Chaos Specter ever again. However to her dismay, Shadow WereGarurumon merely sneered back at her as he pushed Black Gargomon away roughly. He straightened up and crossed his arms against his chest, looking undaunted at all.

"_Was_? As in, no longer with that oh-so-famous Chaos Specter?"

At this, Catrina knew that she was at a disadvantage. She had let slip more than she should have. Now her assailants knew that she was no longer under Chaos Specter's mandate, which meant that they didn't have to worry of hurting her. Catrina however was convinced that she could beat the scruffy trio; she was after all well-trained and could hold her own against one Ultimate Digimon. She had fought Mega level Pharaohmon once, and subsequently various Ultimate-level Digimon. Though she didn't win against all of them, but she sure had given them a good fight.

"So what if I'm not, rrrowww?"

Black Gargomon gave Catrina a suspicious-looking smile. "If that's the case, let's dance!" He aimed his Gattling arms towards Catrina's feet and let out a series of continuous shootings on the floor, forcing Catrina to jump in order to avoid the bullets. Black Gargomon followed Catrina's movements by changing his aims to trail Catrina, which forced Catrina to evade the shootings by twisting, turning and jumping up and down.

Catrina jumped onto the counter, and her eyes blazed with fury. "I'll teach you a rrreal dance, rrrowww! Vampire Dance!"

However, the orange bats generated from Catrina's attack were destroyed by Shadow WereGarurumon with his crimson claws. Then, he along with Black Gargomon and Doggymon advanced towards Catrina. Shadow WereGarurumon smiled wickedly as he raised his clawed hands, Black Gargomon aimed both Gattling arms on her while Doggymon became more aggressive by jumping onto Catrina and started to pull Catrina's long red hair while spitting on her head.

"Kaiser Nail!"

"Gattling Arm!"

Distracted by Doggymon's antics, Catrina was incapable of defending herself and was assaulted at close range, sending her crashing onto the counter with Doggymon still clutching on her hair. Doggymon barked madly and began to bite on Catrina's shoulder when Nanomon had enough and stunned the toon mutt with a zap of electricity. Doggymon limped mutely onto the ground, and Catrina kicked the dog away as hard as she could as a way to vent her anger. She pulled herself together and began calling on more of her power.

"Darkness Wave!"

The attack surprised Shadow WereGarurumon and Black Gargomon, as the Darkness Wave was a trademark attack of the LadyDevimon species. They were surprised to see a Bastemon performing the same technique, and were caught off guard by the black bats sent by Catrina. Catrina followed up her initial attack by sending several flurry of kicks towards both of them but Black Gargomon thumped his Gattling arm onto Catrina's head. Seeing as how Catrina began to be disoriented as the effect of the strong blow, Shadow WereGarurumon lifted her up high, and Catrina didn't even put up a struggle. Ignoring Nanomon's protest Shadow WereGarurumon walked out of the tavern and threw Catrina onto the rocky ground. Her head was knocked over a stone which forced her to devolve back into her BlackGatomon form.

Shadow WereGarurumon laughed. "Looks like she's only a mere kitten, instead of a fierce wildcat she's led us to believe."

Nanomon buzzed out from the tavern and attempted to defend Catrina. "Don't you harm her!"

"Out of my way, you tin can!" Shadow WereGarurumon kicked away Nanomon as he approached the lying form of Catrina. Nanomon crashed onto a nearby rock and was damaged considerably.

Catrina tried to stand up to face her three adversaries. She spat on the ground. "So, this is what you three boys do best now, isn't it? Ganging up against a female Digimon?"

Doggymon caught sight of the devolved Catrina, and scurried towards her. He stared at Catrina and immediately stopped drooling. His eyes now filled with repugnance at the sight of the BlackGatomon. "Yah! Yah! Yah! Ugly black kitty cat! Me no like! Yah! Yah! Yah!"

"Ugly?" Catrina shouted. "Take this! Lightning Claw!"

Being slashed by Catrina's sharp claws once more, Doggymon was immediately knocked out unconscious as Catrina kicked him away with satisfaction. However without warning, suddenly she was met with torrents of bullets being fired towards her by Black Gargomon. Catrina avoided the attack easily as she was extremely agile while in her Champion form. However, suddenly she was caught on the neck by Shadow WereGarurumon, who proceeded by planting a foul-smelled, wet kiss directly on Catrina's mouth.

"Am I your first kiss?" the Ultimate asked with a perverted sneer. "How did you like that?"

Catrina was lost for words, but her yellow eyes blazed with utmost fury and hatred for the werewolf. Right then, all of those who were in her 'hate list' – such as Yolei, Hawkmon, Sylphimon, Chaos Piedmon, Chaos Seadramon, Chaos Wargreymon and Chaos Specter – were immediately forgotten. She was now staring into the eyes of the one which she hated even more than the Chaos Forces and Sylphimon put together. She gritted her teeth as she tried to escape Shadow WereGarurumon's clutch, but being a lot smaller than she used to leave her at a disadvantage. She knew she was beaten.

"If you don't kill me now, I swear…I'll hunt you down wherever you go, and I will torture you with the worst possible punishments before I kill you by cutting you up _limb by limb_!"

Shadow WereGarurumon looked at her mockingly before slapping her twice. "I have other things in mind actually…and to kill such a beautiful creature is a sin."

Catrina didn't cry; instead she spat on Shadow WereGarurumon's face again. The werewolf lifted his claws, attempting to strike at her again, when…

"LET HER GO!" a deep masculine voice demanded.

Shadow WereGarurumon, Black Gargomon and Catrina all reverted their gazes towards the tavern's doorway, where the white armored Digimon Catrina saw earlier was at. His height nearly reached the archway, and he had an imposing aura that neither Shadow WereGarurumon nor Black Gargomon possessed. He was holding a golden claymore on one hand, while his other hand was pointed towards them.

"Oh, if it isn't the knight in shining armor coming to rescue the damsel in distress," Shadow WereGarurumon mocked. "How cliché."

"You werewolves make me sick," the armored Digimon said placidly. "Either let the BlackGatomon go now, or I'll be forced to attack you."

"Pah! I'm not scared of you!" Shadow WereGarurumon snorted. He threw Catrina towards Black Gargomon before taking a stance against the newcomer. "Let's fight this out, wolf to wolf."

"Always a pleasure to beat the chill out of a perverted werewolf," the warrior smirked.

Shadow WereGarurumon then launched himself to attack the white-armored warrior with his sharp crimson claws, shouting and barking insults loudly as he went. However the warrior merely raised his claymore towards the morning sky while locking gaze with the werewolf's eyes.

"Frozen Hunter!"

Immediately a giant white wolf appeared from out of nowhere, standing on fours above the warrior. The wolf gave out a chilling aura as its ice-blue eyes were fixed into Shadow WereGarurumon's terrified yellow ones. With a loud, echoing howl the wolf charged towards the werewolf, and went through him before disappearing. Immediately, Shadow WereGarurumon froze on his track, seemingly paralyzed. Thin beads of frost formed from the tips of his brown fur, and the sound of his fangs clicking against each other was enough proof that the warrior had already, literally, beat the _chill_ out of Shadow WereGarurumon.

The warrior then stared at Black Gargomon. "I trust you to be wiser than your friend."

Black Gargomon didn't need to be told that twice. He released Catrina, picked up Doggymon and carried Shadow WereGarurumon back inside the tavern, with the warrior watching them intently.

The warrior in white then approached Catrina. "Are you alright?"

"Me?" Catrina asked with a slightly high-pitched voice. She regained her composure, but couldn't help but to blush slightly upon her mistake. "Uh…yeah, I'm fine. Although I think that I'll probably need more than a hundred baths now just to get rid of the fowl stench of that Shadow WereGarurumon. But you know, I could've handled those two on my own."

The warrior knelt beside her and looked at her skeptically. "I'll take your word for that," he said with a smirk.

Catrina began to feel that even her raven-colored fur couldn't hide the reddening flush she was having on both cheeks right now. "What's that supposed to mean?" she demanded.

"Nothing," the warrior said dismissively. He looked at Nanomon, who had her glass tube that covered her organic head broken. "Your friend's not that lucky though. She looks like she needs quite a fixing up."

"Oh…" Catrina got up and approached the mechanical Digimon that she considered as a friend, though she only got to know Nanomon for merely several hours. Nanomon was in this state due to her attempt to protect her from the goons. Catrina felt pity for her, and to her surprise, felt sad at her as well. It surprised her as she wiped her glistening eyes. She had never cried before and was not familiar with the new sensation. "Poor Nanomon…"

"I know who can fix her up to be good as new," the warrior offered.

Catrina brightened up immediately. "You do?"

The warrior nodded. "I'll just have to bring her over to a friend of mine. I think he's on his way to my home right now, visiting from the eastern quadrant. If there's anybody that can fix a broken Digimon like your Datamon friend there, it's him. He's a good healer. Not the best, mind you, but good enough to fix up Ultimates."

Now feeling slightly assured, Catrina smiled impishly. "I guess I'll have to take your word for it."

"I think I've heard those words before…" the warrior smiled back. He picked up the unconscious Nanomon and carried her carefully with his large arm. He then looked at Catrina. "Will you be accompanying your friend to my home or stay….here?"

"Are you kidding? Nanomon's my dearest friend! Of course I'll come with her. I wouldn't want you or this friend of yours blows her up instead of fixing her up."

"You're one quick-witted Digimon, though I shouldn't be surprised. All Gatomon species are quite known for their sharp minds. Being a BlackGatomon, I suppose you are much more cunning and witty than your white-furred cousins."

"Why thank you," Catrina smiled. She was beginning to like this warrior. "Oh, and I'm not just a BlackGatomon. I have a name too. I'm called Catrina."

"Catrina, huh? That's a beautiful name. I think I've heard someone mentioned that name to me a long, long time ago, but I don't really remember," the warrior said thoughtfully, before continuing, "Well, while I don't have a specific name, everyone around here knows me as Beowulfmon."

"Beowulfmon? That sounds…heroic," Catrina said sincerely.

Beowulfmon laughed. "Heroic? For that, Catrina, you get to ride shotgun. You look like you could use one." He offered his other free arm. "Hop on. It's a long journey back."

Catrina jumped on and settled herself on Beowulfmon's armored arm. She smiled serenely for the first time. "You know…I'll just have to take your word for it."

* * *

The day passed by quickly and soon it was already close to afternoon on the Digital World. The DigiDestined barely had a good night rest, considering previous night's event. Not to worry the parents, each of them merely sent a message that they were needed in the Digital World for the time being. They had no problem convincing the parents of the older ones, but the younger ones' parents required a much more believable story before they were allowed to stay. TK got off the easiest as his mother believed in him to be independent. Cody didn't have much trouble either as his grandfather and mother always encouraged him to do what he thought was right. Ken's parents had gotten over their paranoia of losing Ken, and let him off without much questioning. Kari simply was allowed to be at the Digital World as her parents thought Tai was with her. It was Davis and Yolei who had to really type long e-mails telling their reason without really being too specific lest their parents got worried.

Now that all of them were refreshed, they were discussing strategies with Ryo at the kitchen table.

"Believe me, you guys will need even more power than your Transdigivolution abilities to stand a chance against Milleniumon," Ryo said calmly as he seeped his warm black coffee.

"What else can we do? We're still quite new in this; none of us can reach Mega level yet," Davis grumbled while buttering his toast.

"But Ryo…you can reach Mega level with Biomerge Digivolution," Ken pointed out.

Ro sighed. "I can, but even Justimon isn't really Milleniumon's match. The first time we fought him, it took Omnimon plus six Ultimates to beat him. The second time around, Milleniumon's own attack backfired when he destroyed the DigiEgg of Kindness. The third, a battle I and ZeedMilleniumon had during the early years of the computers, was won by trickery when I forced him to DNA Digivolve with Monodramon…who eventually becomes Cyberdramon here. You see the pattern here; either we have a greater power than a Mega, or some miracles. The seven of us can go and fight Milleniumon, but we could not beat him."

"What if we have more Mega Digimon with us?" Cody suggested. "Both Doumon and Lilymon have the ability to Mega Digivolve. And don't forget the three angels down there."

"So that gives us a grand total of…four Mega Digimon, and six Ultimate Digimon," Ryo said. "It might work."

Suddenly, the alarm system of the laboratory blared loudly. Immediately all of them forgot about their meals (with some exceptions) and went to the laboratory. All of them were surprised upon watching the screen. The viewing screen was displaying a one-towered metallic castle, built on a mountain constructed out of the spiraling charred ruins of the once-glorious Machine City. They were horrified to see that the city was leveled in just one night.

"When all of you escaped last night, the blast that was meant for you ended up destroying the city," Gennai revealed sadly.

All of them were profoundly stunned. It could have been them that was caught by Milleniumon's fatal attack, and should that happened they wouldn't live to see the light of the day again. And after getting over the first shock, they suddenly remembered about the occupants of Machine City.

"What happened to Andromon and the other machine Digimon?" Kari asked nervously, hoping that she would hear assuring news.

Gennai hung his head down. "There seemed to be no survivors…" At this, everyone gasped loudly. All of them remembered Andromon as a kind Digimon. TK and Kari were affected even more; Andromon had been a long-time ally, helping them against their battle with the Dark Masters. Gennai cleared his throat and continued, "And there's more…I have come to believe that GrapLeomon, Jewelbeemon and Piximon were with Andromon prior the destruction of the city. It seemed that the three of them had replied to Andromon's call prior to the attack on Asuka City."

Everyone was silent as they thought of their friends, but received a rude awakening upon watching several familiar figures flying out of Milleniumon's castle. Two of them were Mega Digimon, and the other four that were with them were Ultimates – Wargreymon, MetalGarurumon, Garudamon, MegaKabuterimon, Lillymon and Zudomon.

"It can't be!" TK exclaimed in disbelief. "I thought only Agumon and Palmon are the ones that still having Azulongmon's DigiCore powers."

"How did the others manage to Digivolve all the way to their highest levels as well?" Kari wondered.

The screen flickered and the scene changed into a dark, metallic hall where Milleniumon stood in the shadows of the darkness of his castle. His yellow eyes shone evilly as he let out a cackle before turning to address the DigiDestined.

"Greetings, DigiDestined. As you can see, yes, they are your friends," Milleniumon began. "I have given them powers that were stripped from them after your first fight with me. Surprised? I should hope not. It is a pity that the complete set of what I term as the dream team is not fully assembled for the time being; I still am missing the DigiDestined of Hope, Light and Kindness. The addition of MagnaAngemon, Angewomon and Dinobeemon would make my minions complete."

"What do you mean _your_ minions?" Gennai barked. "Those are the champions of good, not your slaves!"

"Let them go at once, Milleniumon!" Ryo shouted.

"Ah…Ryo, my _so-called_ partner. I shall let you know that I am still nursing some hope that you, one day, will join me."

"Oh yeah? Well you can forget it, Milleniumon. I already have a partner, and I wouldn't dream of having any other."

"This is an unpleasant surprise," Milleniumon replied calmly. "Are you saying that you would rather be partnered to that tub of lard…that Monodramon, rather than me, a powerful Mega Digimon?"

At this, Cyberdramon growled angrily. "Watch what you say, Milleniumon."

"I shall say what I want, Cyberdramon. And let's not forget that a part of me is still within you. I suggest that you better not get on my bad side, lest I am able to call on that part of me, and make you turn against your precious partner and the other DigiDestined. All it takes is just some focused thought…"

"That's utter rubbish!" Ryo retorted. "We've been able to keep that half of Cyberdramon in check, and after we got the ability to Biomerge, the Milleniumon-half within Cyberdramon's gone!"

"Would you really like to risk finding out later for yourself?" Milleniumon asked with glee. "Do not forget that a part of _me_ is within Cyberdramon…I would know if it's still there or not. And as of now, I think there is. How do you think that your tubby partner is able to maintain his Ultimate form like that? Should there be just a tiny speck of my data inside Cyberdramon now, I shall be able to control Cyberdramon, and you are as good as helpless to the DigiDestined."

Ryo smirked cockily and raised his D-Power Digivice. "Well, there's one way to prove it now isn't it?"

Milleniumon too, raised his long arm, fingers ready to make a snapping motion. "You shall regret your insolence, Ryo."

"Ryo…?" Ken called nervously.

"Don't worry Ken…I know what I'm doing," Ryo said, eyes fixed on the screen.

Milleniumon sneered. "Your overconfidence shall be your partner's undoing." He was about to snap his finger…

…As Ryo raised his Digivice high. "Biomerge Activate!"

At the same moment, Milleniumon snapped his fingers.

**Biomerge Digivolution**

Ryo and Cyberdramon glowed with navy blue lights, and were about to Biomerge…

"**Cyberdramon….Biomerge to…."**

…when suddenly Cyberdramon's eyes glowed with neon green lights. Ryo was pushed away instantly and was sent flying across the lab before crashing on the plush sofas. His Digivice hung in mid-air, pulsating with blue lights while Cyberdramon's eyes flashed green. Cyberdramon growled loudly and while his body attempted to resist whatever that was controlling him, it seemed like something was resurfacing from within himself that was gaining dominance on his mind. A familiar presence…which caused Cyberdramon to let out an ear-splitting howl as he trashed about before finally, the green lights in his eyes died out. Cyberdramon glowed with grey-blue lights and turned into a smaller, stout purple dragon. The Rookie Digimon, Monodramon, slumped onto the floor weakly as from the screen; Milleniumon's maniacal laughter was heard.

"This is a definite, unexpected surprise. It seems that your Digivice is instrumental in keeping that Milleniumon-half in Cyberdramon in check. I was able to control Cyberdramon, but that wretched dragon seemed to be able to resist me. Well, well, well…you know Ryo, while I may not be able to get that half of me back from your partner, I would suggest that you think twice before attempting a Biomerge Digivolution with your partner for the time being."

Ryo quickly stood up and supported himself by holding one of the sofas. He was sweating profusely and his breathings were incoherent.

"Threatening me won't work, Milleniumon. I've stopped you before; I'd do it again sooner or later!"

"Charming," Milleniumon replied gaudily. "You are incapacitated for the time being, I shan't have to worry about the oh-so-heroic Justimon to foil my plan. And as for the DigiDestined…I suggest the six of you to come by and resume our unfinished battle. I have told you previously that should you lose that battle, Machine City would be destroyed. Well, you lost and it was bye-bye Machine City! And as for now, the game shall continue…but at the stake of the lives of your fellow DigiDestined. I expect you to be here within ten minutes. No more, and less is preferred. I know for sure that you all can do that. If should you decide not to show up, I win by default, and…."

Milleniumon left the sentence hanging tantalizingly as he terminated the connection.

"What do we do now?" Veemon wondered.

"We have no choice," Kari answered. "If we don't show up, he'll…he'll..."

"We'll go," TK continued quickly. "We're going to save them."

Gennai nodded. "The six of you will go and I shall monitor you from here and teleport you back should you be in danger."

"But then, Milleniumon will finish off Tai and the rest. I cannot let that happen!" Kari gasped.

Gennai was quiet for a while before replying. He seemed to be deep in thought before his face was set looking extremely determined. "Just trust me on this. _I'll_ make sure that nobody else is going to get killed today."

"Wait a minute," Ryo said. "You said six. Didn't you mean seven? I want to help them as well. If you're gonna listen to Milleniumon's lies…"

"I'm not," Gennai cut in. "Although it might be best if you don't Biomerge for a while. Actually, I have another mission for you, which will be a great aid in the battle against Milleniumon…_if_ you are successful. I've given this quite a thought last night and I'm pretty sure that you can pull it off." Before Ryo or anybody else was able to question him, Gennai quickly turned back to face the DigiDestined. "All of you teleport there first; I'll alert the three angels, Doumon and Lilymon to join you soon."

The DigiDestined agreed and disappeared in a flash of myriad lights. Ryo then turned to Gennai.

"What's this mission you want me to do?"

Gennai pondered about it one more time. "I need you to locate the four Harmonious Ones with your walking-between-dimensions ability. The computers aren't able to locate them, so I'll have to resort to the manual way which I think would be much more effective. And, while away on another dimension, Milleniumon will not be able to track you and your partner, so you are able to become Justimon without any difficulty. This is crucial, as only the Harmonious Ones have the powers to match Milleniumon, whose power is growing as we speak."

Ryo thought about it. "Ok. I'll do it."

* * *

Deep inside the Velvet Claw, in the dark secret chamber, Chaos Specter was sitting opposite the main computer, with a glass of green liquid in his hand. He wasn't facing the computer screen; instead he was staring at the Lilithmon hologram, which provided little light to the otherwise pitch black room. Chaos Specter's facial expression was placid and unreadable as it usually did, but his emerald green eyes reflected melancholy. He had been sitting there for hours, ever since after the battle with Milleniumon.

He had lost one loyal henchmen in the battle. He hadn't seen that coming – Chaos Seadramon was a strong Mega Digimon. The DigiDestined couldn't beat him without dire corollary on their side as well. In terms of strength, the serpent might have been the weakest among his three generals, but he was far stronger than any normal Mega Digimon. Chaos Seadramon and Chaos Piedmon had been his two earliest minions before Chaos Wargreymon added to the team of three. He had beaten uncountable Digimon, even taking part in defeating three of four guardians of the Digital World. Yet it took Milleniumon merely a few seconds to finish him off, without making much effort.

And to add to his loss, Catrina had decided to leave him as well after learning the history of her home world. It was a huge blow to Chaos Specter as he had come to love the feline like his own. Catrina had been extremely loyal and had tried hard to impress him (on a couple of disastrous attempts), yet her loyalty wavered drastically after learning the truth, and she'd left Chaos Specter in fury, vowing of never wanting to see him ever again.

"AAAAAHHHH!" Chaos Specter shouted, and threw the half-full glass towards one of the curtained wall. The curtains were pushed aside slightly before the glass shattered upon hitting the wall…which was actually a massive bronze-framed picture. Chaos Specter, intrigued upon something that he hadn't see for a long time, got up from his seat and walked slowly towards the wall. Pushing the curtains obscuring the picture aside, Chaos Specter stared at the picture that was displayed in front of him.

It was a picture of a pleasant-looking young woman, with shoulder-length brown hair framing her face. The woman was smiling happily, and her blue-green eyes sparkled with life. She wasn't strikingly beautiful, but had a sweet face that bore hints of premature wrinkles at the sides of her lively eyes that were covered with light make-up. The woman's skin was slightly tanned, and her hair looked slightly sun-bleached, but somehow they only accentuated her qualities. Wearing a matching set of violet tank-top and headband, she had an arm slung over the shoulders of a taller, rebellious looking, raven-haired teenage boy who was dressed in a black tank top, which stood out against his pale skin. The teenage boy would've looked handsome if it weren't for the fact that he was scowling at whoever that was taking their picture. He looked rather moody, which was brought out even more by the way he crossed his arms across his chest and the silver chains he wore on his wrists and around his neck.

"Kit Kat moment," Chaos Specter muttered slowly, his earlier frustration forgotten.

His eyes then trailed down to a smaller photograph that was pinned at the lower right side of the picture. It showed a group of five people – two teenagers and three children. Four of them were males donning blue birthday party hats, cheering on the only girl who had on a pink party hat, and was posing to cut a birthday cake. All of them however were seemingly looking at him with happy grins and smiles.

Chaos Specter didn't say anything, but ran his hand behind the right side of the bronze frame. His hand caught on something, and he pried the picture towards him, revealing a small compartment. Inside the compartment was a curious looking article, shaped like a trophy made from the finest onyx. It was glowing slightly with dark purple aura, and when Chaos Specter touched it the purple light became brighter, emanating the whole dark room. Chaos Specter felt raw power coursing through his veins, and for a moment he hesitated. His finger which touched the egg-shaped article was drawn away, but the power from the article willed, persuaded, and tantalized him to embrace more of its power. Brushing away his earlier inhibition Chaos Specter grabbed hold on the article and drew it out from the compartment. Images of Duskmon, Velgamon and Veldusmon materialized around him before he raised a hand towards the images. The three images combusted into data and swirled around his form. Chaos Specter's emerald eyes changed color to a deeper violet hue as the power from the article consumed him.

"The DigiEgg of Darkness! Bless me, curse me, _grant me, _with all of your power of darkness!"

* * *

…..

…..

**Author's Note:**

I've almost decided against including the final part of this chapter in here, for a now-obvious reason. I wonder if it clears up some things or make things even more confusing. It should however shed some lights to where Vengeance is heading. And concerning Catrina's new friend Beowulfmon, I know that the dub's spelling is BeoWolfmon, but I preferred it to be spelled like the original version.

Anyway, thank you for the reviews.

**_Dark Qiviut _**–Well, I'm glad that I've managed to surprise you with Ryo's inclusion in the story. And as for TK and Davis's 'rivalry', in my opinion both are growing up and Davis doesn't really seem to be obsessed with Kari after Ken joins the team. The episode _Guardian Angel_ of Digimon 02 shows that they are actually a good team, which I have exploited even further in chapters _Revelations, Battlefield: Harmona _and _The Forbidden Skill._ Ah well, both are not going to end up with Kari anyway (as provided by the epilogue) so why bother making them fight over her?

**_Dark672 – _**Short and sweet comment, thanks.

**_DTV_** – My mistake. I've forgotten that detail as I've never watched the episode _Genesis of Evil_. I plan to download it sometime soon. Thanks for pointing those out for me. And as for inconsistencies of previous chapters I plan to fix those after I've finished writing Vengeance.

**_Bluesv20_** – Well, not really…as the chapter's tentative name has been in the planning for quite some time. I don't have any plans of making all the Transdigivolution DigiDestined evolve further than Ultimate level in Vengeance, but in the sequel all of them will eventually reach Mega. However, (a little spoiler here to add to the excitement I hope) there will be a Mega Digimon introduced out of the six DigiDestined, but which one…I'll leave it for you to wonder :).

**_DarkFictionWizard_** – The hints are everywhere in some chapters, while nil in others…but until they really appear I'll be including more and more hints :)

**_J.D. Guy_** – Welcome back! I've been wondering about you, actually. Milleniumon looks like a black Kimeramon, with Machinedramon's cannons perched on his shoulders. Lilithmon is a canon Digimon but so far she's only on the cards, though she is quite popular in the fan fiction world. She is the Mega form of LadyDevimon and Bastemon primarily, as well for other Ultimate Digimon such as Angewomon and Lillymon. As for your idea, I'm glad that you'll keep it to yourself for the time being, as all will be revealed in due time…but actually there's more to what is now obvious.

**_Yami Vizzini_** – The Chaos Spirals? Err…no. And as for your theory, my lips are sealed (or rather, my fingers are glued) :) You'll find out soon enough.


	38. Showdown

**Previously on Vengeance:** Catrina gets acquainted with Beowulfmon, who has saved her from being bullied by a group of thugs. In the meantime, Milleniumon contacts the DigiDestined and tampers with Ryo and Cyberdramon's attempted Biomerge Digivolution before delivering an ultimatum for them; fight him again or risk the lives of their fellow DigiDestined. The DigiDestined have no choice but to comply, and Gennai assigns a special mission to Ryo – to locate the whereabouts of the Harmonious Ones. And Chaos Specter decides to fully harness the power of the DigiEgg of Darkness in a bid to ensure that his mission will be successful.

* * *

"Wake up, sleepyhead."

Catrina drowsily opened her eyes, and was rudely awakened by streams of bright sunlight entering her eyes. She grunted and was about to roll over when she realized that she wasn't sleeping on her usual bed. Her body ached slightly, and in a brief moment of early incomprehension she wondered why was she in an arm of a tall figure wearing pearly white armor, which sharply contrasted her own raven furs. Then everything came back to her in a rush; she and Nanomon discovering Chaos Specter's doings to her home dimension, Lilithmon, they leaving the Velvet Claw, the bar brawl she'd had with three of the bar's rowdy customers, and…

"Beowulfmon?"

An amused chuckled was heard. "That's me, and a good afternoon to you too, Catrina. And just so you know, we've arrived."

"Already? But I've just closed my eyes…"

"For two hours? Yeah, I'd figured. It was lucky that I noticed you starting to doze off on my shoulder, or else you'd have fallen down halfway back."

Catrina grunted again and tried to stifle her yawn. She blinked her eyes again, and saw that they were in a middle of a plain. Grasses were seen growing out at random place, and stones of odd formations stood sturdily at the places where the grass was absent. Trees were scanty, giving the sun a clear path to graciously shine its brilliant rays to the earth. There was a waterhole, and what immediately caught her eyes next was an odd building built beside it.

"So, what do you think?" Beowulfmon asked as he lowered Catrina down slowly. "It isn't much, but I've built it myself ever since I Digivolved to my Ultimate form. Home sweet home."

Beautiful wasn't the word Catrina was looking for as she stared at the rectangular cottage which looked large enough to accommodate such tall Digimon like Beowulfmon. But somehow, it looked cozy and homely. The lower half of the building was constructed by stones, while the upper half and the roof was of wood. The closed door was made of sturdy looking wood, painted oddly in green. The windows were opened, but with her height Catrina couldn't quite discern what was inside the house. Still, she decided that she liked the house.

"Not too shabby," she commented. When she'd gotten no reply from her company, she looked up to see Beowulfmon staring at his house with a thoughtful expression. "What's the matter?"

"That's odd. I could've sworn that I've closed the windows before I left the house."

Suddenly, the door opened, and out walked a humanoid Digimon wearing a beige jumpsuit, with purple cloak and a pointed hat of the same said color. The Digimon was holding a wooden sunflower-shaped staff. As the Digimon looked up, Catrina saw that he had a pale purple skin and a pair of green eyes, which sparkled with mirth.

"Indeed, but I grow tired of waiting for you to arrive, so I _magicked_ myself in and opened the windows to let the air in. You don't mind, do you?"

"Wizardmon!" Beowulfmon said in recognition, and rushed to greet the wizardly Digimon. "It's so good to see you! Of course I don't mind, you're welcome to barge in anytime. It has been _too _long since I saw you. How long has it been…ten years? Though, I thought you would arrive in the evening."

"I'm happy to see you too. I Digivolved to Ultimate while on my way here and the travel time was cut half. I thought I'd surprise you by arriving earlier than the time I have specified in our conversation a week ago," Wizardmon replied. Then he eyed Catrina and the broken Nanomon, still within Beowulfmon's grasp. "Oh, I see you have company. Care to introduce them to me?"

Beowulfmon looked at Catrina. "You remember when I told you about a friend that could fix up your friend, Catrina?" The BlackGatomon nodded. "Well, Catrina, meet Wizardmon. He's an old friend of mine; we go way, way back. Wizardmon, this is Catrina. I met here this morning at the Old West Tavern." Wizardmon bowed slightly towards Catrina.

Catrina nodded. "A pleasure to meet you. Can you fix Nanomon back to health?"

If Wizardmon was surprised to hear the directness of Catrina's request, he didn't show it. He moved his gaze towards the Nanomon. "Seldom have I healed Ultimate Digimon, but I once cured a Lillymon that was struck by a deadly attack by a Myotismon. I think…fixing your friend here will not be a problem."

"Well, aren't you modest," Beowulfmon commented casually. "But why are we all standing outside here? Catrina, Wizardmon, come on in. You can fix Catrina's friend inside."

Beowulfmon immediately ushered his two companions inside and laid Nanomon with care on a wooden table lying in the middle of his lodge. Catrina took a seat on a wooden chair nearby, noting half-heartedly the interiors of the cottage. Beowulfmon seemed to be uninterested in lavishness, as his house was barely furnished. Yet, he seemed to have taken good care of its cleanliness. Beowulfmon went outside to fetch a pail of water, and placed the water near the hearth to warm it. There were two doors other than the entrance, probably leading to rooms. There was next to no decoration in Beowulfmon's home; the only one was a rather old picture framed with wood placed on a small table at a corner. Curious, the cat peered to look at the picture closer and saw that it was a group picture of, surprisingly, humans. She was about to look to ask Beowulfmon about the picture when her interest was suddenly swayed by Wizardmon, who knelt beside the table where Beowulfmon had placed Nanomon. She scooted beside Wizardmon and watched with interest as Wizardmon performed a series of complex hand movements before directing his right palm towards Nanomon. Faint yellow glow shone from his palm, and to Catrina's astonishment, the broken parts of Nanomon suddenly reconfigured themselves.

"Nanomon!" Catrina squealed in delight, after the mechanical Ultimate opened her eyes.

"Mistress Catrina?" Nanomon said, sounding confused. "Where am I? What happened?"

"Long story short, we're in good company," Catrina said, suddenly feeling as if a pair of eyes was staring at her.

"_Mistress_ Catrina?" Beowulfmon asked. "I thought Nanomon is your friend?"

"I am?" Nanomon said, surprised.

"Well, she _is_, now," Catrina said hastily. Looking at Nanomon, she continued, "and you, stop calling me mistress. We're both out of…" Her voice trailed off; she didn't really want to divulge their identities to Beowulfmon and Wizardmon, as she'd just known them. And she was sure that they were good Digimon, and good ones tended to hate her former master. Catrina wasn't sure how they would react if they knew she was a servant of Chaos Specter.

"Out of what?" Beowulfmon asked again. Seeing Catrina's hesitation, he looked at Wizardmon. The wizard Digimon nodded calmly as he took a seat on the wooden stool which was previously occupied by Catrina. Beowulfmon then revert his gaze back to the BlackGatomon once again. "Don't worry. You can tell us."

Catrina made up her mind, but she needed to be sure of something first. "I'll tell you, but you have to promise me that you won't kick us out of your house afterwards."

"Don't worry," Wizardmon said serenely. "Both Beowulfmon and I have been through rough situations ourselves. You'll find that we can be very accepting…and forgiving."

There was something comforting in Beowulfmon and Wizardmon that made Catrina felt at ease. Deciding that she could trust them, she regaled her past as a servant of Chaos Specter, her escapades in helping out her former master's cause and her battles with the DigiDestined, up to the time she discovered about her past and her decision to leave her master. All the while her new friends paid close attention, and until she was finished, nobody uttered a single word.

"You know, Catrina…your past sounds quite as much as Wizardmon's here," Beowulfmon said.

"Indeed. I've served _two_ evil masters before, but I haven't really attacked any DigiDestined," Wizardmon said with a faraway look on his face. "I understand completely of how you feel."

Catrina immediately felt at ease; she wasn't going to be thrown out. Truthfully she hadn't any place to go, and she was beginning to enjoy the companies of Beowulfmon and Wizardmon. Also she was afraid that Chaos Specter would send somebody to track down Nanomon and her.

"So, what are you going to do now?" Beowulfmon asked, breaking Catrina's trains of thought. "Do you have any place to go?"

"Frankly…no. We're on the run, remember?"

"I've guessed as much. Would you object if I invite the two of you to stay here…at least for a night? I'd hate to see the two of you leave without having a roof above your heads while you're recuperating from your injuries," Beowulfmon offered. "And of course, if you want to stay here longer than that…by all means…" There was a bashful tone in his voice, which was unfitting to his strong commanding stature. Wizardmon seemed to notice it as well as he stared curiously at Beowulfmon, but opted not to say anything.

Catrina lightened up considerably. "You mean it?" Looking at Nanomon, whose eyes glinted with approval, she squealed, "Yes! We'd love too…thank you."

"It's my pleasure," Beowulfmon said, composing himself. "Of course, you're expected to chip in with the housework…"

"There isn't much to do in the house," Catrina pointed out.

Beowulfmon didn't seem to hear her. "…and the cooking…"

"I don't know how," Catrina protested.

"Learn," Beowulfmon said offhandedly. "And of course, you can always join me sparring. I could teach you some new maneuvers. You sure look like you could use sharpening your skills."

"What do you mean? My skills are sharper than your blades," Catrina shot back, somewhat good-naturedly. Then she realized slowly that this wasn't entirely true. She was well-trained, yes. In fact, she had undergone much training which enabled her to hold her own in many battles. She was able to give Sylphimon a good fight, but what she still lacked was experience. Her experience with Shadow WereGarurumon and his cohorts back at the Old West Tavern came back to her. A plan began to hatch in her mind; she would train with Beowulfmon, improve her skills, and learn new ones at the same time. It would prepare her should Chaos Specter send somebody to force her back to him. And she had a feeling that three particular canine Digimon were ought to be taught a lesson in respecting her.

"On second thought…sparring sounds perfect. I could use that. When can we start?"

* * *

**_VENGEANCE_**

**_Chapter 37: Showdown_**

…..

…..

On the site where the glorious Machine City used to be was now a spiraling heap of charred ruins of the metallic city. After leveling the whole city, Milleniumon had decided to make a home for himself, and had decided to construct a castle. Using his powers and some arty skills encoded in his data he had mould the metals to form a massive palace made out purely of metal. It looked impressive and somewhat artistic, as Milleniumon was always one with a great mind. In the middle of the piles of sands and stones of the desert, the castle stood out, especially by the way the sunlight glittered on the walls of the castle.

In front of the castle, a line of Mega and Ultimate Digimon stood in silence, with Milleniumon standing somewhere in the sides. The two Mega and four Ultimates; WarGreymon, MetalGarurumon, Garudamon, MegaKabuterimon, Lillymon and Zudomon, all had glowing green eyes, signaling their minds being possessed by the dark Digimon of time and space. Their bodies all had a very fine coating of green aura; the reason behind it was unknown.

Milleniumon was chuckling with glee. On his long hands, six Digivices swirled around; each was glowing with the same jade-colored aura as their respective Digimon. He had robbed the captured DigiDestined off their Digivices, and placed them in a deep sleep. Then, he'd channeled his powers through the Digivices to allow the Digimon to Digivolve to their highest-achieved levels, earning himself two powerful Mega Digimon and four relatively strong Ultimate Digimon. Wanting revenge against the DigiDestined for defeating him years ago, he planned to pit the six captured Digimon with the remaining six DigiDestined Digimon. The spell he had placed on the six captives was profound, and almost unbreakable. It would take very powerful sorcerer or angel Digimon to break through his spell, and to Milleniumon's knowing none of the DigiDestined was partnered with Mega sorcerers or angels. He had nothing to be worried about. His plan was at hand; the only way to break through his brainwashing spell was to delete them, and Milleniumon was perfectly sure that the DigiDestined wouldn't have the heart to do that. The possessed captives however would not be limited with said restriction and would give their all to beat their opponents. With that, Milleniumon didn't care who'd end up as victims. Either way, his thrust for vengeance would be fulfilled.

A bright flash of white light pulled him out from his entertaining thought, and Milleniumon hummed with satisfaction upon seeing that the DigiDestined had arrived, with some allies. He recognized the six Ultimates immediately, but hadn't seen the three Champion angels or two feminine Mega Digimon in violet before.

"Ah, finally it seems that you have decided to grace me with a second round battle, have you not, DigiDestined?" he asked patronizingly.

"Shut up, Milleniumon! We gonna beat you and save our friends!" Paildramon exclaimed.

"Such confidence is admirable, but it is not me you have to fight. I shall be sending my new minions to battle you instead."

"_Minions_?" Dinobeemon growled. "More like prisoners."

"Ken, Ken, KEN…." Milleniumon sneered. "And where is that dear friend of yours? Surely he has not, how you say it…chickened out? It is _so_ unlike him. He is always so heroic, so gallant…cowardice does not really suit him. But then again…he cannot even Biomerge with his dearest partner. 'Tis a pity, really…I would immensely enjoy a good match between myself and Justimon."

"And whose fault is that, I wonder?" Sylphimon said sarcastically.

"Tut, tut…Let us not waste any more time. Hear this, DigiDestined. The rule is very simple. It is very crude, really…but I shall just say it bluntly, shall I not? It's finish them, or be finished by them. Cruel, yes I know…but what do you expect from a bitter, vengeful, major villain such as me? Now then, I shall be watching from my castle, shall I not? Ta!"

* * *

As Milleniumon conversed with the DigiDestined, two teleportation beams of pure white light materialized from the back of the metallic palace. The lights ceased, revealing Gennai and HolyAngemon.

"If I know Milleniumon, he won't let the DigiDestined go even though the kids beat him," Gennai said doggedly as he took his Photon Rapier from his inner robe, but didn't activate its laser blade. "So it's up to us to use the limited time we have right now to save them ourselves, while they fight their predecessors' partners."

"This palace must be extremely well-guarded," HolyAngemon cautioned.

"Well, we'll have to take them down then."

"But your _plan_….are you positively sure we are ready?" HolyAngemon asked. He took Gennai's hand and began flying up to the lowest window they could find. Seeing a window, HolyAngemon swooped in immediately lest somebody would notice them. They had gotten into a large hallway, dimly lit only by the window they had used to get themselves in.

"Sure I'm sure. You should be ok, you're strong enough now as an Ultimate…but for me, well…it's been quite a while since I last did this," Gennai replied, eyeing the surroundings guardedly.

"A while? Several millennia sound closer to the truth," HolyAngemon commented slowly. A small smile flickered on his otherwise serious expression. "What makes you decide to attempt it again? Was it not dangerous for you when you last tried to use it? It could cost you your _life_, as it had almost happened during _that_ final battle."

"That was a long time ago. The DigiDestined need all the help they can get, and I've seen damages Milleniumon had done before. And besides…I'm willing to take the risk."

"It's foolhardy to just go ahead with this if you are uncertain of the real consequences. And besides, at my best I probably can handle one lone Mega, though I might be forced to delete it wholly with the Heaven's Gate."

"It's just maybe…just maybe…if I can prove that this isn't going to cost anybody's life, then perhaps I can…you know, call _them_ back."

"You missed them, don't you?"

Gennai nodded. "And I still do. They were my friends. But I'm not so sure whether they would for… Hold it." The young warrior halted suddenly from his tracks. His eyes wildly looked around and he thrust his left arm to his side, blocking HolyAngemon from walking even further.

"What is it?"

"I sense Milleniumon's energy signature returning to the palace. We're going to have to lie low for now."

HolyAngemon nodded his agreement. He smiled again slightly. "And you were so sure of your plan."

Gennai snorted in annoyance. "I am still sure of it. But we can't afford to be detected until we find the captured DigiDestined and our friends."

* * *

After Milleniumon disappeared in a cloud of black and purple smokes, as if on cue, the six possessed Digimon instantly moved in to attack their friends, out of their will. The effects of the two Mega's attacks alone were deadly; combined with the four attacks from the Ultimates…the result would be chaotic. All six of them then open-fired towards their friends….

"Terra Force!"

"Metal Wolf Claw!"

"Wing Blade!"

"Horn Buster!"

"Flower Cannon!"

"Vulcan Hammer!"

The DigiDestined immediately braced for the impact. They energized their own attacks and were about to counter when suddenly a purple force-field was erected in front of them. Kuzuhamon moved towards the front and with a gentle gesture of her staff she summoned her powers to shield everyone from the attacks. However, the strength came from six attacks joined together was too much for the sorceress to handle alone. The barrier shook violently upon impact, sending Kuzuhamon flying several meters back. Fortunately, she managed to regain her balance just before trampling on the sandy desert.

The three angels Digimon knew that they needed to merge again, and formed Magnadramon again with Piddomon being the center of the triumvirate. The massive dragon then glided forward, making sure that all six possessed Digimon were nearby. Then, calling the most of his threesome powers, he generated his most devastating technique. A circular diagram glowed with bright krypton aura, immediately freezing all six Digimon in place. Dark clouds began to form across the cosmos, and suddenly green lightning bolts streaked down from the sky and electrocuted all six Digimon simultaneously. With loud roars of pain the possessed Digimon fell on the ground, while Magnadramon, drained instantly of his energy due to the awesome attack, collapsed as well and reverted back into d'Arcmon, Piddomon and Angemon.

"DigiDestined…the _Celestial Apocalypse_ attack should have weakened them a great deal. You have the advantage now," Piddomon said jadedly.

"Good luck," Angemon said earnestly, while helping d'Arcmon up. "We angels can only watch now; the attack has greatly drained our powers. But it has done it purposes."

"Thanks, guys," MagnaAngemon replied determinedly.

"Okay," Paildramon said. "Now that they're done, we'll be able to attack. The problem now is to choose the right opponent." He quickly summoned the analyzer to perform a quick scan on all six Digimon, trying to find the perfect way to beat the six possessed Digimon as quickly as possible, without actually harming them.

"Ah can take on that Lillymon on mah own," Rosemon offered quickly. "Ah know how a Lillymon fights, but she will not know mah style. Ah can beat her in no time!"

Paildramon nodded. "Good idea. Now that's one down…how about Zudomon?"

"I think I'll be able to hold him down," Valthrumon said decisively.

"Okay…who's up to face Garudamon? She's a big girl, so maybe there should be two of you to take her down."

"I'll do it," Sylphimon said grimly. "The successor of the crest of Love against the predecessor; Milleniumon must be laughing real hard now of how poetic the situation is."

"And I'll help Yolei," Angewomon offered.

"Ok…I think Ken can handle MegaKabuterimon, insect-to-insect," Paildramon continued.

"Very funny," Dinobeemon muttered. "But alright, I'll do it."

"Wait a minute. Are you putting me against MetalGarurumon?" MagnaAngemon asked. "Because, he's a Mega…"

"And you're an Ultimate archangel Digimon whose power supposedly can handle a Mega's fairly, so you're up. And I think since MetalGarurumon is ice-based…maybe Kuzuhamon can help you out after she recovers herself. You guys fought well together against Chaos Seadramon, I'm sure the two of you can handle MetalGarurumon."

MagnaAngemon thought about it, and realized that Paildramon was right. "Well, alright…but don't tell me that you alone will face WarGreymon? He's the most powerful of the six; you don't stand a chance against him."

Paildramon choked slightly. "Oh…I'm kinda hoping that one of you guys would be able to finish off their battles quickly and lend me a hand…"

"DAVIS!" the other five Transdigivolved DigiDestined roared.

d'Arcmon approached the DigiDestined slowly. "Maybe Phoenixmon is able to help you, Davis."

Paildramon saw how tired d'Arcmon and the other two angels were. He quickly decided against it. "No. Please don't strain yourself any further. I can do this. You've done more than enough."

"Perhaps, it is wiser for you to have MagnaAngemon to back you up, Davis," Kuzuhamon suggested. "I believe I can hold MetalGarurumon until Rosemon defeats Lillymon. She will then be able to assist me in fighting MetalGarurumon."

"Now that's a more sound idea," Paildramon considered. "TK?"

MagnaAngemon nodded with a small smile. "It does sound much better than your plan."

"HEY! Are you saying that…"

"Look!" Valthrumon said suddenly, cutting Paildramon's complaint. "They're waking up!"

"Ok guys…remember the plan. Remember, they're our friends, so don't overdo it. Ok… Let's do it!"

The DigiDestined, Kuzuhamon and Rosemon were ready for their designated opponents as soon as the six possessed Digimon came round. They then saw Lillymon quickly being tackled by Rosemon, who had immediately delivered a vicious flurry of whips against the smaller pixie. Lillymon didn't even have the time to retaliate; Rosemon was simply too strong for her to handle alone. She was the first to fall even before the other five had started to attack. Rosemon grinned in satisfaction when Lillymon was knocked out unconscious. Her clothes were torn while on her face, arms and legs there were many slash marks of Rosemon's sharp whips.

"Well…that was unexpected," Sylphimon said, sweatdropping. "Somehow I don't think Mimi is gonna like hearing about this."

"Ah told you that it's going to be easy," Rosemon said triumphantly. "Now ah can help Kuzuhamon battle that wolf."

After the unexpected turn of event, the DigiDestined immediately revert their attention to the remaining five Digimon, who were wilder than ever after seeing their fellow comrade fell. Zudomon and MegaKabuterimon both launched their attacks towards the DigiDestined, but were immediately countered by Valthrumon and Dinobeemon respectively. Valthrumon and Zudomon looked to be evenly-matched, but MegaKabuterimon was bigger than Dinobeemon. Dinobeemon immediately rectified the problem by creating three clones to help him fight the giant scarab. The fight of insects suddenly turned to Dinobeemon's favor, as MegaKabuterimon couldn't handle four Dinobeemon at once. He managed to destroy one of the clones with his mighty horn, but then the other three Dinobeemon each generated a different attack from one another, confusing him greatly. MegaKabuterimon was the second to fall, being attacked at once by a swarm of poisoned needles, a supersonic roar and a sharp energy blade, which shattered the turquoise jewel encrusted on his shell. His clones disappeared, Dinobeemon then turned to look at Valthrumon, whose battle with Zudomon seemed to be a stalemate so far.

"Cody, need a hand?" Dinobeemon called. He had strained his strength while battling MegaKabuterimon, but Valthrumon looked like he needed aid.

"Sure!" Valthrumon replied.

Dinobeemon then split his body into three once again, attempting to beat Zudomon the same way he'd defeated MegaKabuterimon. However Zudomon seemed to be wiser about this; upon seeing the three Dinobeemon he quickly threw his powerful Chrome-Digizoid hammer towards the dragon-insect. The hammer rammed against the real Dinobeemon, knocking the wind out of him and causing the clones to disappear when the real body wasn't able to control them.

Valthrumon, surprised to see the sudden change of turnabout of event, quickly prepared himself to battle Zudomon on his own once more. Yet, now he'd seen something that he could use to his advantage. Zudomon, wanting to take down Dinobeemon in haste, had thrown his weapon away. Without his powerful weapon, Valthrumon might be able to beat him. It was worth a shot.

"Katchina Bombs!"

Zudomon growled in anger when he saw Valthrumon's clay bombs knocked away his hammer even further. Instead of going after the hammer, Zudomon whirled around and from his horn; he fired a streak of thunderbolt towards the titan of ice. Out of instinct, Valthrumon shielded himself with his spiked guard. The lightning bolt somehow was deflected by the smooth metallic surface of the shield towards Zudomon, electrocuting him enough to knock him out.

Sweatdropping, Valthrumon recollected his breath. Armadillomon was heard chuckling heartily from inside his mind. _"Well, that wasn't so hard."_

In the meantime, Garudamon took to the sky, with Sylphimon and Angewomon in hot pursuit. Angewomon tried to freeze the giant bird-man but she was too quick for the female angel to pursue. However Sylphimon didn't seem to have the same problem; the Silphymon species were renowned for their speed, and despite some difference the merged form of Yolei and Hawkmon was no exception. She gave chase to Garudamon, who retaliated with her Wing Blade attack. Sylphimon countered the attack with her Top Gun, causing an explosion in midair. The smokes obscured Sylphimon's vision, and before she knew it somebody had kicked her on the back, sending her flying. Garudamon had seized the chance, and seeing Sylphimon lose control of her maneuver the possessed Ultimate didn't hesitate to finish her off.

"Yolei, look out behind you!" Angewomon called cautiously. However Sylphimon wasn't able to pay heed to her call, prompting the angel to take charge of the situation.

But as they say, two heads worked better than one. Before Garudamon could land another kick on the smaller bird-man, her wings were pierced by a powerful arrow of light. She screamed in pain, and turning around Garudamon saw Angewomon, perfectly poised with her bow. Her flight capabilities desecrated, Garudamon could no longer maintain her balance in the air. She quickly aimed for the ground, wanting to fight her opponents on the safety of a solid surface. Yet, her motive was foiled when Sylphimon fired her Dual Sonic, followed by a controlled measure of Angewomon's Heaven's Charm. Both attacks exploded on Garudamon's back, worsening her focus and condition even further. No match for the two females' prowess, Garudamon was the third to be defeated. She crash-landed on the desert ground, sending sands flying haphazardly. And due to her great stature, the effect was like a violent sandstorm, and for a while the other battles were halted.

"Amethyst Mandala!"

"Roses Rapier!"

Deploying their special attacks at once, Kuzuhamon and Rosemon took advantage of the distraction provided by Garudamon's defeat to strike at MetalGarurumon. However, the metal canine was quick to evade as his whole body was equipped with the latest state-of-the-art thermal sensors and detectors. Even with his vision obscured, he could still get a reading of his two opponents, and that proved to be advantageous for him to end the battle quickly. He calculated the strength of his two opponents and quickly decided that he'd eliminate the weaker of the two. The Mega fairy Digimon was coming at him, with her vines ready at hand, but MetalGarurumon grew tired of being batted by her whips, while not really feeling anything. He released a stream of subzero ice blast from his maw, and struck right smack on Rosemon's body. The Mega data was frozen in place, the only thing that remained unfrozen was her head.

"Rosemon!" Kuzuhamon cried worriedly. Eyeing MetalGarurumon with cold fury she waved her staff. "Reverse Spirit Strike!"

At the same time, MetalGarurumon released his Metal Wolf Claw once again to counter the chilly fox specter generated by Kuzuhamon. The two attacks were equally strong and nullified each other. MetalGarurumon prepared to move in for another attack but was hit with waves of violet energy emitted by Kuzuhamon's staff. At the same time his body was also lambasted with thousands of cherry blossoms. The flower storm grew steadily worse, and soon MetalGarurumon was caught inside of it with no hope of escaping.

"I shall not harm an ally," Kuzuhamon said wearily; it was obvious that she was drained of her energy while fighting MetalGarurumon. With another wave of her staff she focused the storm around her opponent's body, constricting the distance of the flower storm until it formed a spherical barrier which contained MetalGarurumon inside of it.

Even though the rest of the DigiDestined and ally seemed to be winning, Paildramon and MagnaAngemon had their hands full in dealing with the strongest of the six – WarGreymon. WarGreymon was a fearsome ally, and the fact that now he was a foe made him made him even deadlier. He had the most experience compared to the other DigiDestined. This was the same Digimon that had beaten MetalSeadramon and Machinedramon of the Dark Masters single-handedly and could hold his own against the far more experienced Piedmon, the leader of the Dark Masters. After so many years, he was still very strong.

Conversely, MagnaAngemon too was one of the most powerful Ultimate Digimon ever existed. His power rivaled that of a Mega. And he too, could hold his own against Piedmon. But unlike WarGreymon, he had managed to outmatch the Mega without even breaking a sweat. It was only his inhibition of fighting a friend that made him seemed to be no match for WarGreymon.

"Excalibur!" he summoned his shining purple energy blade and attempted to stun WarGreymon with it.

"Esgrima!" Paildramon retracted two longer purple blades, similar to Stingmon's Spiking Strike attack, and hoisted them towards the Mega Digimon.

WarGreymon easily countered both blades with his tough armored claws. He then spun himself to form a flaming tornado and knocked away the two Ultimates. "Brave Tornado!"

Paildramon quickly steadied himself while in midair and whipped out his blasters. Firing towards WarGreymon with all he got, he grew weary after seeing WarGreymon didn't even make an effort to move away or counter his attack. It seemed that his Desperado Blaster attack didn't even faze him. Quickly, Paildramon decided to change his strategy, charging his palms with Elemental Bolts. The bolts of fire, ice, lightning and poison were launched towards WarGreymon, but the Mega simply drowned them with a considerably mild version of his thermal fireball attack – the Terra Force.

"He's toying with me!" Paildramon growled in annoyance.

Suddenly, WarGreymon harbored a malicious sneer as he raised his fearsome claws – the Dramon Destroyers – and crisscrossed them in front of his chest. His glowing eyes were bored into Paildramon's brown orbs. Without any warning, the Mega rushed towards the Ultimate and his claws suddenly seemed to be glowing with silvery-red light.

"Davis, get out of there! WarGreymon's claws can destroy all Dramon type Digimon! He'll be able to destroy you!" MagnaAngemon yelled.

Having quick reflexes thanks to Davis's intense soccer training, Paildramon paid heed towards the archangel's warning and quickly zoomed away. Unfortunately for him, WarGreymon seemed to have his mind set on eliminating him. He gave chase to the Ultimate, forcing the dragon warrior to increase his speed and flee the battle ground. He didn't even dare to attempt to fight back, as it would only slow him down, and WarGreymon didn't seem like he was going to give Paildramon another head start. However, he was stunned to see that the famed Mega Digimon suddenly slowed down; something seemed to be holding him. Paildramon noticed a faint golden glow…and he immediately searched for MagnaAngemon, a horrible suspicion already came to his mind.

"TK, you can't be serious!" he shouted towards the royal angel. "Tai won't be able to forgive you for dong this, when he comes around."

"Maybe so, but I don't think Agumon could live with the knowledge that he has killed off a fellow Digimon, and possibly a DigiDestined as well," MagnaAngemon replied grimly. "To save your life, I don't think I have another choice!"

"But…surely the Gate of Destiny is a bit TOO extreme?"

Seeing that Paildramon was about to be finished off by WarGreymon, MagnaAngemon didn't hesitate to summon the deadly Gate of Destiny to stop him. However he didn't really want to pull in WarGreymon inside of it, like the way he'd done with Piedmon and NeoDevimon. He believed that WarGreymon would put up a struggle against the force emitted by the Gate of Destiny, the same way Black WarGreymon had done sometime ago.

However, he'd forgotten one little account. As WarGreymon was under Milleniumon's spell, it had made him less resourceful and rigid. Thus, he didn't really put up a struggle like his darkened persona had done when he was in danger of being absorbed by the gate. Slowly but surely, he was pulled into the gate, and MagnaAngemon had no choice but to cease activating the gate, at the risk of being attacked by WarGreymon out of retaliation as the Mega was close enough to do so. However, help came in the time when it was needed the most, and MagnaAngemon saw five streaks of attacks, coming from his friends, blasting onto WarGreymon's chest armor. The combined efforts of the Celestial Arrow, the Top Gun, the Irritant Buzz, the Desperado Blaster and the Titanic Hammer were forceful enough to throw WarGreymon out of MagnaAngemon's way. Then he saw Kuzuhamon gliding gracefully towards him, waving her staff, letting out a silvery apparition of a chilly fox. The fox swooped towards WarGreymon and went through him, immediately freezing him solid.

By combining their powers and resourcefulness, the DigiDestined and their allies had successfully beaten their possessed comrades. They had won the battle Milleniumon had forced them to partake, and now was the time to receive their end of the deal.

"Alright, Milleniumon! We've won; now give us back our friends!" Paildramon shouted.

The air rippled suddenly, and a holographic image of Milleniumon appeared, smiling hideously. "I am impressed, indeed. But the battle is not over yet. There is still one more obstacle you have to face. And I am sure that this time, it will not be too easy for all of you to win. You shall have to defeat…me, and before that…" On his hands two Digivices appeared and gleamed with blue and red lights.

"But you've said that we could get back our friends if we beat you," Angewomon protested.

"Which is the thing that you have not yet accomplished, dear heart," Milleniumon said sarcastically. "You are victorious, yes…but not against _me_. To prove yourself worthy to fight me, again…is to prove that you are able to match my strength, by competing with a Digimon _beyond_ the Mega level. And I have a worthy opponent for you to test your skills. You can fight him one-on-one, or two-on-one, or eight-on-one…it shall be up to your own resourcefulness."

The two Digivices around Milleniumon's hand pulsated vibrantly. At the same time, both the frozen WarGreymon and the trapped MetalGarurumon broke free from their confinement with aid of the lights from the Digivices. WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon morphed into two motes of light, with only their helmets being solid. The vaporized part of their body merged together and formed an ivory-armored body, arms and legs before finally the head appeared, hidden underneath a pearly head guard. Green eyes shone brilliantly from underneath the mask. Long, crimson cape was attached on his shoulders, billowing down until his calves. The helmets of WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon latched on each hand of the newly-formed knight Digimon. From the WarGreymon hand guard a thick blade emerged, while from the maw of the MetalGarurumon helmet a cannon emerged.

"This is not good," MagnaAngemon said breathlessly.

"Not good? Whatever did you mean by that…I believe some of you have the pleasure of meeting Omnimon before, have you not?" Milleniumon sneered malevolently. "You know the drills. Ta!"

Looking up the towering figure of Omnimon, the six DigiDestined felt a foreboding feeling. They were already facing difficulty in facing normal Mega Digimon; how would they stand a chance against a royal knight whose power level was beyond Mega? This was the most powerful DNA Digivolved Digimon in their team, even stronger than Imperialdramon Fighter Mode. And the fact that they could no longer form the said Mega didn't really work in their favor.

"This is really unfair," Paildramon muttered.

* * *

"Sense anything, Cyberdramon?" Ryo asked, glancing down towards his partner's face.

Cyberdramon was silent; his attention seemed to be focused on their surroundings. The two of them were currently at a place void of anything else except white. Cyberdramon was flying, and Ryo was sitting on top of his right shoulder. There was nothing else; no floor or road to step on nor was there a ceiling or the sky to look up to. There wasn't anything remotely interesting to look at their left or right as well. There was also no indication of the difference between the directions where they had come from, or where they were heading.

"I think I've caught something," Cyberdramon finally replied decisively. "It wasn't like the times when I sensed the D-Reaper a year ago. I can sense four different energy signals, but something is very wrong. They are weak, more or less only equivalent of Champion Digimon instead of the guardians of the Digital World."

"Considering they are imprisoned, and drained off their energy, it isn't much of a surprise," Ryo said. "But we need to hurry. Can you take us there now?"

The Ultimate Digimon snorted derisively, as if what Ryo had asked him was a task which required so little effort on his behalf. "Of course. This is gonna be rough. We're going to exit this intermediate dimension, heading to where I feel these…prickling sensations. Hang on tight."

As Cyberdramon began to move through dimensions, their surroundings changed. The pure whiteness of their ambiance began to darken, and specs of color began to appear. Ryo felt a slightly tingling feeling but brushed it off; it was the feeling that bothered him quite a lot when he first dimension-hopping. He'd grown used to it already after the whole ordeal with ZeedMilleniumon. Ryo noticed the space setting around them.

"We're here," Cyberdramon announced gruffly. He floated, pretty much the same way he did when they were at the white dimension. It appeared as if he was standing on a solid, invisible surface.

Ryo looked around. "I don't see anybody. You sure this is the right place?"

"Positive," Cyberdramon growled. His senses heightened suddenly. "We've got companies…and it's not the guardians."

Thunders boomed, and several meters away from where Ryo and Cyberdramon were at, the air rippled – the same way the calm surface of the water would be when something touched it. The ripples intensified and out from them, two Digimon walked out. One of them looked like a knight in thick purple armor, wielding a massive staff with two similar, diamond-shaped endings. The other was a gigantic brown brachiosaurus equipped with deadly artilleries; three long cannons were mounted on its back, ready to shoot anybody who stood in its way.

"Halt! By the commands of our illustrious master, Chaos Specter, nobody is permitted here!" the knight announced loudly.

"We have orders to exterminate anybody that trespasses this threshold!" the dinosaur added with a mechanical-enhanced voice.

Not recognizing them, Ryo whipped out his D-Power to check out the data of the two Digimon.

"Craniummon; vaccine type Mega level Digimon. This royal knight Digimon wields a staff capable of pulverizing anything that comes into contact with it. Its attacks are End Waltz and God Breath."

"Cannondramon; data type Mega level Digimon. This Cyborg Digimon conquers its foes with Dino Cannon and Grenade Storm."

Ryo jumped down from his partner's shoulder. "Looks like they're not gonna let us through easily. Ready to Biomerge, buddy?"

"Always," Cyberdramon replied. "Milleniumon can't hope to tamper with our Biomerge Digivolution here."

**Biomerge Digivolution**

"Biomerge Activate!"

"**Cyberdramon….Biomerge to….Justimon!"**

Biomerging into Justimon, Ryo and Cyberdramon were now ready to battle Craniummon and Cannondramon. However, could Justimon alone fight off two equally strong Mega Digimon? As the warrior Digimon flew off to battle the two minions of Chaos Specter, he was least aware of two pairs of blue eyes, watching him from a distance, watching his every move.

* * *

…..

…..

**Author's Note:**

This is a rather quick update from me before the double festivals at my place. Anyway, thank you for the reviews. I really enjoyed seeing the responses to previous chapter; that picture Chaos Specter has seems to spark out quite a speculation.

**_Dark Qiviut _**–Did you mean the DigiEgg of Darkness, instead of Kindness?

**_DTV, blazing fury_** – As for your questions….what do you think? Four guys and one girl, sounds really familiar, don't you think:D

**_Yami Vizzini_** – Hope you enjoyed the update.

**_Bluesv20_** – Chaos Specter's identity is resurfacing, and there's a LOT of story behind him and what he is now. I just hope I'll be able to write it properly.

**_Arking, dark672, Cows Are Cool – _**Thanks.

**_Gerjomarty_** – There is a tie-in between the reason Chaos Specter decides to spare Catrina's baby form and the mysterious Lilithmon. For Ryo and Ken, I think it'd be interesting to make them a little awkward at first, after not meeting each other for a long time. This is actually a set-up to a future chapter plot, but I'm not entirely sure whether it would work or not. It will still be an interesting subplot in this Milleniumon arc; at least I hope it will be. I think I might have written Catrina's change of heart a little too quick, but it will not be a complete 180 degrees change. And as for your final deduction about the girl and Lilithmon…we'll see.

**_Anthony_** – Welcome to _Vengeance_. Don't worry; I still have some plans cooked up for them.


	39. The Ominous Warning

**Previously on Vengeance:** The battle between the DigiDestined and the corrupted six destined Digimon has begun, and with help from Kuzuhamon, Rosemon and the three angels, they manage to beat them. However Milleniumon has another trick up his sleeve, forcing WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon to DNA Digivolve into Omnimon! In the meantime, Gennai and HolyAngemon sneak in Milleniumon's fortress in an attempt to save the captured DigiDestined. Elsewhere, Ryo and Cyberdramon manage to locate the dimension where the four Harmonious Ones are imprisoned, but are stopped by the guards there. Can he beat them? Find out next, on Digimon 02: Vengeance!

* * *

In the middle of the desert on eastern Server, the battle between the DigiDestined and Omnimon was about to ensue. It was morning, nearing to noon, and the sky was cloudless and bright. Soft winds blew sands all over the place. For a moment there was a standstill. Neither side attacked the other. Everything was quiet except for the sound of the whispery winds.

The DigiDestined stared in dreadfulness as Omnimon towered over them mightily. His pearly armor glistened impressively against the clear sky, and the magnificent cape flowed elegantly in accordance to the flow of the desert winds. However, one thing that was blatantly different was the eyes. Those green eyes had a cold, hard look as they were fixed towards the six DigiDestined. A malicious glint was evident in the eyes of the holy knight Digimon. His imposing weapons, the Grey Sword and the Garuru Cannon, sticking out from where his hands should be, gave him an even more daunting, dangerous aura.

In that moment of standstill, nobody moved. Seeing that Omnimon was not about to attack, the DigiDestined quickly made a few steps back to regroup and to think of a plan.

"This isn't good," Paildramon muttered. "We're sitting ducks here. We could barely handle them when they were normal Megas… how can we outdo a… a _Super_ Mega?"

"I once hoped that I could see Omnimon, face to face…" Sylphimon said waveringly as she stood beside Paildramon. It was obvious that she was feeling intimidated by Omnimon. "I saw him battling Diaboromon a few years back…I never imagined that this is the way my wish is granted."

Paildramon looked sideways and nodded silently.

"We need a good plan, there's no use of just going there and attack him blatantly, as he wouldn't be able to feel it. We will just waste our energy," Dinobeemon cautioned as he joined Paildramon and Sylphimon. "I've done some statistic readings of Digimon back in my Emperor days, and I can say that Omnimon ranks as one of the most powerful Digimon ever existed in the Digital World, along with Milleniumon, Apocalymon, the Dark Masters and Myotismon. And since Omnimon had beaten Milleniumon before….he could be the most powerful foe we have to face now."

"No kidding," Sylphimon muttered. "What does the Digimon Analyzer say about Omnimon?"

"Hold on; let me check," Dinobeemon replied.

**_00000000000000- DIGIMON ANALYZER –0000000000000000000_**

**Name**: Omnimon  
**Attribute**: Vaccine  
**Level**: Mega  
**Type**: Exalted Knight  
**Specialty**: Holy

**Attacks**: Transcendence Sword, Supreme Cannon  
**Power Level**: 125

Omnimon can only be formed by the DNA Digivolution of a WarGreymon and a MetalGarurumon. He is said to have unrivaled powers.

**_000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000_**

Sylphimon groaned. "Unrivaled? _Great_. So what do we have to do now?"

"We still stand a chance," Valthrumon said, motioning to themselves and their allies. "There is power to numbers."

The Transdigivolved DigiDestined all had lined on Paildramon's left, while Kuzuhamon and Rosemon stood on the dragon's right. The three angels, though weakened, felt that their assistance was vital, and bravely joined the others, standing behind the assembled team of six Ultimates and two Megas. All of them kept a close watch on their foe, who was once, a friend.

"Not even eleven Digimon can match _Omnimon's_ power," Angewomon said darkly, shaking her head. "I don't like to do this…Omnimon's our friend, but…but Milleniumon said that if we don't defeat Omnimon then Tai and the others could…" Her voice broke into a stifled sob.

"_Kari, be strong,"_Gatomon said comfortingly. _"Agumon and Gabumon are my friends, and I care for their safeties… but I will _not_ hesitate to fight them if that's what you want."_

"I don't want to do this….but Milleniumon has given us an ultimatum we can't get away with," Angewomon said softly. Quietly, she unfurled her eight wings and rose towards the sky. She then raised her hands wide and instantly, a golden halo was formed. The halo let out myriad colors of light, and Angewomon used one arm to guide the lights to envelope Omnimon, while using her other hand to maintain the golden halo, which began to shine with brilliant emerald hue.

Omnimon obviously was aware of Angewomon's intention, but the second he took a step forward, the multicolored wave of lights generated by Angewomon's golden halo froze him in place. He attempted to move his blade and cannon, but was unable to do so. The mighty knight was paralyzed, not completely, but the light seemed to be holding the possessed holy knight for the time being.

MagnaAngemon observed Omnimon struggle and realized that the halo's energy wave would not hold Omnimon for long. Angewomon was only an Ultimate Digimon, while Omnimon was twice as strong as a beyond-Mega Digimon. Sooner or later, he would be able to break free of the halo's immobilizing effect.

"Well guys, you know the drills. Let's do it! We don't have much time!" he shouted. Rising to the air, he energized his fist and released Angemon's attack. "Hand of Fate!"

"Right! Elemental Bolts!"

"I'm with you, Kari. Top Gun!"

"Count me in. Irritant Buzz!"

"Me too. Titanic Hammer!"

The three angels Angemon, Piddomon and d'Arcmon were also familiar with this technique; they had watched how Angewomon defended Asuka City from Megadramon and Gigadramon back when the DigiDestined first obtained their Diginizers. And strangely, both Kuzuhamon and Rosemon, though nobody had explained it to them, somehow knew what they should do.

"Reverse Spirit Strike!" Kuzuhamon released an ice-cold silver apparition of a fox towards the halo.

"Roses Rapier!" Rosemon whipped her rapiers together, generating pink energy waves in the air.

"Hand of Fate!"

"Fire Feathers!"

"La Pucelle!"

All ten attacks entered the halo, and merged as one form of raw power. The emerald lights inside the floating pool of power turned white and Angewomon raised both hands up. She wasn't intending to form the Celestial Arrow, fearing that it might just kill Omnimon and she didn't want that to happen. She planned to improvise, with the hope that her attack would just knock Omnimon out and drain his energy, to force him to revert back to his composite selves.

Clasping her palms together and bringing them forward, Angewomon absorbed the white light and summoned her secondary attack, "Heaven's….AAAHHH!"

This was when everything went wrong. To the horror of the other DigiDestined and Digimon, white electricity shot out from the floating pool of power and Angewomon was electrocuted by it. They watched helplessly as Angewomon screamed in pain before the power outrage sent her plummeting towards the ground. Out of reflex, MagnaAngemon rushed to Angewomon's aid and caught her with both arms before she crashed onto the mounts of sands. He knelt down and laid Angewomon gently on the sands.

The female angelic warrior was very weak, and barely conscious. Her breathing rate increased as she gasped for air.

"What happened up there?" the royal archangel wondered in concern.

* * *

_**VENGEANCE**_

**_Chapter 38: The Ominous Warning _**

…..

…..

"Justice Kick!"

Justimon loomed down and delivered a high-powered kick straight onto Craniummon's chest. However, the knight Digimon's armor was too strong and practically impenetrable, forcing Justimon to bounce away as soon after his legs slammed the purple knight. The evil Mega retaliated with his powerful staff, swinging it towards Justimon, but the smaller Mega narrowly dodged it, and floated several meters away from the taller Mega.

"That was too close," Justimon said in his dual voice.

"He's tougher than I thought!" Ryo exclaimed furiously, whilst inside the Biomerged Mega. "And it's not only him we have to face. There's still Cannondramon."

"Don't underestimate ourselves," Cyberdramon said with determination. "We'll beat this pushover!"

The battle engaged between Justimon and the two Digimon working for Chaos Specter had been going on for nearly an hour, and so far it was mainly Craniummon who delivered the attack. Their strengths matched each other, and Justimon had the advantage of being smaller and more agile, while Craniummon had much more strength to compensate for his lack of nimbleness. Cannondramon however had chosen to stay on the sidelines for the time being, seeing no need to get himself engaged in the battle when his fellow cohort was more than able to do the task. Besides he was too big for Justimon; the warrior Digimon could easily dodge all the cannons launched by the large dinosaur.

"Do not get your hopes too high, intruder!" Craniummon sneered. He raised his sturdy staff high. "I'll admit that you are indeed highly-skilled, but even _that_ cannot save you from the wrath of my staff – the mighty _Kurau Shirasu_! Behold; End Waltz!"

The high-speed rotating staff emitted blinding flash of blue and Justimon, out of reflex despite having his eyes covered by the metallic helmet he was wearing, still had to raise both arms to cover his eyes while swiftly moving a few meters back. A whooshing sound was heard coming from where Craniummon was at, and Justimon quickly opened his eyes. He saw his adversary spinning his staff at top speed; the sound let out by the sheer speed of the spinning began to form a somewhat musical note, earsplitting yet irresistible. Justimon quickly attempted to block out the high-pitched sound from entering his ears, but they were already cosseted by the metal helmet. Yet, the protection delivered by the helmet was not enough.

"Darn it!" Ryo muttered. His face and body were sweating profusely. His brows contorted as he held both palms over his ears, trying to block out the sound. "At this rate, my eardrums will explode and I'll be one deaf Tamer!"

"That's the idea," Craniummon said viciously. The knight kept spinning his staff, knowing that he had an advantage with it. "And now, to finish you off once and for all, as I ought to have done the second after you appeared here."

"We're not going down without a fight!" Justimon countered. He raised his metal-grafted arm high and summoned, "Voltage Blade!"

His arm instantly morphed, the metal graft transformed into a bigger weapon, with a lava-red energy blade emitted out from its end. Then, trying his best to ignore the hypersonic resonance sound, Justimon leapt towards Craniummon, the Voltage Blade thrust towards the spinning staff. Before Craniummon could retract his weapon, Justimon successfully jammed the energy blade onto the staff. The burning hot energy blade cut the staff into half, and Justimon watched with satisfaction as the lower end of the staff fell towards the bottomless abyss below. Beneath his helmet, Ryo grinned as he heaved a relieved breath. He felt tired, and could sense Cyberdramon's weariness. Both knew that they needed to end this battle quickly.

Craniummon was shocked, and froze in place. He didn't expect the bold move Justimon had demonstrated. Without a weapon, he was defenseless. He turned to face his comrade.

"Cannondramon! Assist me now!"

The brachiosaurus shrugged and didn't reply. However the cannons mounted on his back began to lower, as Cannondramon used his computerized vision to focus a shot onto Justimon. This was done to ensure that he would not miss a shot. The cannons began to let out a mechanical hum as they shone with dim yellow light.

Justimon realized that he was in danger. "I don't like the look of this…"

The cannons then shot out three intense red beams at the speed of sound. Justimon had barely registered the booming reverberation let out by the cannons when he saw the three beams were about to hit him. Making a back flip, he managed to avoid himself being vaporized by the beams. Unfortunately, he wasn't quick enough to evade them fully; one of the beams had singed half of his crimson scarf to smithereens, while the other two beams charred the sides of his left and right calves. Though safe, Justimon wasn't able to move as freely as before. Both his calves now were bleeding, releasing liquefied data.

Inward, it was Cyberdramon who was groaning with pain, but with them being bonded, while uninjured Ryo felt his pain too. It was excruciating.

"Gotcha!" Cannondramon growled evilly.

"You'll pay for that!" Ryo shouted. Then, his mechanical graft morphed into its other shape, a hand-like form.

Justimon slammed his arm in midair, and thunderbolts were released from the hand-shaped graft. The thunderbolts streaked towards Cannondramon, and the massive Digimon hadn't time to evade it as Justimon's Thunder Clap attack electrocuted him fully. The effect was destructive. Cannondramon roared out in pain as the mechanical and computerized part of him immediately malfunctioned due to the electric shock. Angered still, Justimon attempted to release another attack but found himself severely weakened as well.

Looking down, he saw streams of liquefied data coming out from his wounds. The bleeding had just gotten severer than ever.

"Oh, no!" he groaned. "Man, I wish MarineAngemon's here. He could easily heal this."

Kneeling in midair, Justimon tore the remains of his crimson scarf and used it to bandage his wounds. The bandages were effective in stopping the data-hemorrhage, but Justimon still felt greatly weakened by it. Two looming shadows approached him, and groaning, the Mega-level warrior stood up and turned back to face his foes.

"You fought well, intruder!" Craniummon boomed. He sounded angry. "You've destroyed our weapons, but we can still crush you."

Despite being hurt, Justimon, and inwardly, Ryo, managed to let out a scoff. "You guys are all talk! I've fought enemies ten-times harder than you two. Milleniumon, the D-Reapers…compared to them, you two are nothing. This is merely a setback, I'll pull through this and I _will_ save the Harmonious Ones!"

"Really?" Craniummon said calmly. Turning sideways to face his dinosaur friend, he said, "Cannondramon, walk all over him."

"Gladly."

Justimon made a high jump and aimed a kick towards Craniummon. However he had lost his speed, causing Craniummon to be able to slap him away easily. He fell right in front of Cannondramon, and was about to be trampled by the gigantic Mega, when suddenly a glimmering ray of pure white light streaked past the cosmos towards the three of them. The beam came from out of nowhere and approached them with what seemed like the speed of light! It blasted onto the three of them…then everything stood still.

Justimon removed his arms from his face, and was relieved to find himself uninjured. Looking up however, he saw both Craniummon and Cannondramon had glazed looks on their faces. They were not moving, as if somebody had paralyzed them in place.

"_**Quickly, Justimon…seize this chance!"**_

The voice was feminine, strong and echoing, and it was imploring Justimon. The Biomerged warrior stood up, confused.

"Who's that?"

"**_Hurry…the paralyzing effect of my attack can last only for a few minutes. Do what you must!"_**

"Ok…and thanks, whoever you are."

"**_I am the one who will be thanking you soon. Good luck!"_**

Justimon summoned all his remaining strength, roaring loudly as he tried to summon his Voltage Blade. The crimson energy blade materialized, but its light was dimmer than usual. Justimon realized that he was too weak to conjure up the mighty attack, which at its strongest, could cut through almost anything. Silently he wished that Sakuyamon was here to give him a power up, like she had done before…but now, Justimon realized that he was on his own. He pushed the thought away and concentrated on forming a decent-sized blade, but the one that he managed to form was even shorter than the one he had formed merely minutes before. The blade won't be able to even go through Craniummon's armor.

Suddenly another bright flash of light appeared from behind, and Justimon, part-trusting the light, but mainly because he was unprepared for it, let it rammed him from the back. Instantly, to his surprise, his body was invigorated with pure energy. It was enough for him to form a meter-wide crimson blade. Not wanting to waste his strength and the power given to him, Justimon immediately leapt towards Craniummon and with a loud cry, thrust the blade into the left-side region of Craniummon's body, where the heart was. The hot blade penetrated the thick armor worn by the knight, directly onto the skin inside, piercing it before reaching the ribcage…and Craniummon instantly exploded into data particles when the blade went through the ribcage.

Justimon let out another cry as he noticed the dimming color of his blade and realized that he had no time to spare. He made it to Cannondramon's long neck, and slashed it with a clean cut. The blade vanished as the upper half of the brachiosaurus' neck was detached from the rest of the body. Both parts then exploded into million bits of black data as Justimon regressed back to Ryo, and Monodramon.

"Are you ok, pal?" Ryo asked in concern. He saw gashes on Monodramon's short legs. The wounds had not dried completely, but the scarf used to bandage the wounds had vanished.

The stout purple dragon let out a whimper. "I've felt better."

Ryo nodded sympathetically. He tore his shirt off and used it to form two straps of long cloths. He then used the cloths to bandage up his Rookie partner.

"Thanks. I feel better already."

"No problem, Monodramon." Ryo then stood up straight and scanned his surroundings. A thoughtful expression glazed his battle-worn face. "I wonder whose voice we've heard just now. She helped us defeat Craniummon and Cannondramon. And how are we going to look for the Harmonious Ones in a place like this?" He looked down and his eyes lit up. He grinned. "Heh…whoever heard of a boy and a dragon walking in space?"

"Are we going to go back now?" Monodramon whined. "'Coz I'm hungry and tired!"

"In a sec, Monodramon. We still have a mission to complete. Gennai and the DigiDestined are counting on us. We…hey, what's that?"

From a distance, both of them could see a small orb of light approaching them. It glimmered with the same white light which had come to their rescue earlier. However unlike the previous ones, this orb was approaching them with a much slower speed. Ryo and Monodramon waited for almost ten minutes before it finally reached them.

"_**I commend you for being able to beat the guards, Ryo and Monodramon."**_

"It's you," Ryo said in realization, recognizing the strong feminine voice at once. "Who are you?"

"**_I am Baihumon, one of the four Harmonious Ones, and the Tiger Sovereign of the West. I and my fellow Harmonious Ones are imprisoned at four different places at the time. However, I am not that far from you, although by using merely your naked eyes you will not be able to see me and the prison which is holding me now."_**

"Wait a minute!" Ryo said, looking confused. "You're _Baihumon_? But….I thought Baihumon is a guy! At least, the Baihumon back at my dimension is a guy," he finished weakly.

"**_Digimon do not have genders, as I'm sure you have already known. Masculine and feminine are very subjective when it comes to Digimon," _**Baihumon said matter-of-factly. **_"However that is not important. Even as we speak, the four of us are growing weaker with every second passes. We ask for you help to set us free, and I request you to come to me first as I'm the closest to you. Hold this orb and to your partner, and I will use what limited power I have to bring you forth to my place of imprisonment."_**

Ryo shrugged and grabbed Monodramon's paw, and held the white glowing orb with another. Instantly, white light enveloped the two of them and they vanished from sight.

* * *

"TK…the powers…." Angewomon said weakly. She seemed so drained of energy; MagnaAngemon wondered why she was still in her Transdigivolved form. On usual occurrences, she would have reverted back to Kari and Gatomon by then. Angewomon coughed and continued, "They were too much for me to handle. I don't know why…"

The others rushed to the two angels as soon as MagnaAngemon successfully caught Angewomon.

"What happened?" Paildramon immediately asked. "Kari, are you ok?"

"I'm alright…but I don't know why I couldn't control the Heaven's Charge. I feel…it's like the powers are just too strong for me to wield."

"Is it because unlike before, you had two Mega Digimon's powers to control as well now? I can say that Kuzuhamon and Rosemon are fairly strong Megas, and seasoned fighters too from what I can gather," Valthrumon suggested.

"It sounds logical," Dinobeemon said.

Sylphimon looked up and observed the pool of power, which was still floating on the sky. "What about that?" she asked, gesturing towards it. "What do we do with it?"

"Someone has to assume the powers that have accumulated inside of it," Angewomon answered weakly as she stood up, helped by MagnaAngemon who was starting to heal her with his Magna Antidote technique. The healing process was slow as MagnaAngemon too, was not at his utmost power. "That someone must be able to handle the powers that lie inside of the pool."

"Whoever that someone is, I suggest we choose one quickly," Dinobeemon alerted, pointing towards Omnimon. "…because with Kari down, Omnimon isn't going to be paralyzed for long."

"The strongest among us right now is either Kuzuhamon or Rosemon," Valthrumon said plainly.

"Oh, no…ah don' think that ah can handle that kind o' power," Rosemon quickly said, shaking her head. "Ah only can retain mah Mega form 'cause of a potion I took. When the potion's effect wears off ah'll revert back to mah Lilymon form. Now, don' go tellin' this to anybody."

"I too, cannot wield the power of that pool," Kuzuhamon said. "The accumulated power inside that pool will reject me the same way it did to Angewomon."

"How do you know that? You haven't tried it yet," Paildramon challenged.

Kuzuhamon however was interrupted when a loud clanging sound was heard. Everyone turned to face their frozen adversary, only to find him _not_ being frozen anymore.

"Omnimon's free! And you know what; I don't think that _I _am fit of the power, so I'm going to slow him down. Be quick with the decision alright?" Dinobeemon interrupted in a rush before flying off towards Omnimon, who was starting to make his way towards the DigiDestined, sword and cannon glowing with amber and sapphire lights. With an unspoken agreement, Sylphimon and Valthrumon left as well, quickly followed by Rosemon. Only Angewomon, Paildramon, MagnaAngemon, Kuzuhamon and the three angels remained.

"Boys, though I don't look like it, I am old. My age could not handle that amount of power," Kuzuhamon finally said sagely. "I am better off joining the others in the battle."

Kuzuhamon took off to battle as well. MagnaAngemon and Paildramon looked at each other.

"Now, TK…we both know that you are…"

"Davis, don't even think about finishing that sentence…"

"Uh…" d'Arcmon said suddenly, stopping MagnaAngemon and Paildramon quickly. After getting their attentions, the Champion angel continued, "If there is no objection between the three of you, I would like to suggest that you will allow the three of us to assume the accumulated power. That way we can form either Phoenixmon or Magnadramon by Jogress Digivolution."

Paildramon, MagnaAngemon and Angewomon contemplated the idea silently.

"That would be best, we could use either of them," Paildramon replied.

"It is settled then. We are grateful for your decision," d'Arcmon thanked him. Angemon and Piddomon nodded and smiled slightly before the three of them stretched their wings wide and took off towards the pool of light. They entered it and a familiar screech ensued before the magnificent Phoenixmon emerged, her feathers glowing as bright as the sun above the morning sky. She swooped down towards Angewomon, MagnaAngemon and Paildramon, and the three found themselves bathed in golden light shining from Phoenixmon's quadra-wings. A warm feeling emanated from within them as they felt their powers returned.

"Hey, we're stronger than ever!" Paildramon shouted happily. He watched as Phoenixmon glided in midair and suffused the other DigiDestined and allies with the same light.

"Unbelievable. Maybe we do have a chance against Omnimon," MagnaAngemon said with vigor as the recently rejuvenated destined and allies shouted happily.

**_00000000000000- DIGIMON ANALYZER –0000000000000000000_**

**Name**: Phoenixmon  
**Attribute**: Vaccine  
**Level**: Mega  
**Type**: Bird  
**Specialty**: Holy

**Attacks**: Crimson Flame, Starlight Explosion  
**Power Level**: 105

The female form of the male Hououmon species; this mighty phoenix commands holy power to thwart dark type Digimon as well as healing her fallen comrades.

**_000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000_**

With the coming of the gigantic holy avian Digimon, the DigiDestined now stood a better chance against Omnimon. Phoenixmon, Kuzuhamon and Rosemon led in the attack by delivering their best attacks. Phoenixmon let out a burst of golden holy light towards Omnimon, which halted Omnimon's sword which was about to attack them. She then kicked Omnimon with her talons, but the warrior was too sturdy for her to unbalance in one blow. As Phoenixmon was about to attack again, Omnimon thrust his cannon and fired a stream of ice ray which froze Phoenixmon's wings. With her incapacitated, Kuzuhamon and Rosemon followed with their assaults, in the forms of thousands cherry blossoms and blasts of thorny vine whipping. Omnimon however, merely knocked both of them with his cannon, sending them plummeting towards the fallen Phoenixmon.

In the meantime, the DigiDestined began to surround Omnimon from six sides. Paildramon whipped out his guns and began firing his best shot while Dinobeemon split himself into three and began attacking Omnimon simultaneously with three different attacks. Sylphimon and Angewomon double-teamed against Omnimon with their own attacks, sending out pink phantom form of Sylphimon and the Heaven's Charm straight down Omnimon's chest. They managed to push Omnimon back slightly, but the knight remained on his feet, undisturbed.

Hoping to remedy this, Valthrumon slammed his Titanic Hammer forcefully onto Omnimon's chest armor, successfully cracking it a little. Omnimon retaliated angrily by lashing out his sword towards Valthrumon, but the Transdigivolved Ultimate blocked the attack narrowly with his Shakkou Shield. While he was defended from the sharp Grey Sword, the shield was cleanly cut into two in the middle. Valthrumon quickly abandoned his shield and released his Katchina Bombs, hoping to further damage the knight's chest armor. One of it managed to further deepen the crack, but Omnimon swatted the other two clay bombs easily with his sword. Omnimon's green eyes flashed red momentarily before turning green once again. He then abandoned the other DigiDestined and focused his attack solely on Valthrumon, with the said Digimon being the largest of all Transdigivolved Digimon.

"Transcendence Sword!"

Without a shield to protect him, Valthrumon hastily evaded the attack, relying fully on his body and the armor adorning it to resist the profoundly powerful attack. He was hit, but had not taken the full effect of it thanks to a timely intervention by MagnaAngemon, who had jumped in his way and protected them both with his own shield, infused with his powers. The shield managed to deflect the attack sideways, but the sheer force delivered by it threw both Digimon away. MagnaAngemon's shield was broken and Valthrumon suffered injuries enough to devolve him into his composite selves. Seeing Cody and Armadillomon vulnerable to attack, MagnaAngemon swooped down and flew them off to safety.

Omnimon ignored MagnaAngemon's action, pleased that he had one opponent less. He then saw an opening to attack a relentless Paildramon with the dragon being the closest to him. Quickly he aimed his cannon and was about to fire when a crimson fireball and an arrow of light slammed on it. The shot that came out from the cannon deviated to Paildramon's left ever so slightly, close enough to slightly graze the humanoid dragon and made him feel the intense heat generated by the Supreme Cannon attack, but Paildramon, thanks to Sylphimon and Angewomon's timely intervention, was saved, albeit hurt a little on his right side of body. Taking Omnimon's momentary halt to his advantage the Ultimate dragon jumped in midair and pelted the enemy two-times his size with barrages of his guns.

The bullets however, did only so little in stopping Omnimon, who had begun to watch the three Dinobeemon with malevolent interest. All three clones were not within his reach, but Omnimon had a simple solution to remedy his problem. His Garuru Cannon began to glimmer with bluish white light, looking more intense than his previous attempts. Then with the blink of the eye Omnimon fired his cannon at random; not caring of who had gotten itself hit. Two Dinobeemon were blasted and vanished, revealed to be merely clones of the real Dinobeemon, who was trying his hardest to evade Omnimon's relentless shots. He fired his hypersonic attack, only to have it swallowed by the Supreme Cannon. Dinobeemon then resorted to his Champion self's attacks – the Moon Shooter, but the poisonous silver needles merely bounce away from his thick ivory armor. Then, seeing the cracks on Omnimon's chest armor Dinobeemon made a decision to further deepen the crack so that his fellow DigiDestined and friends would be able to inflict more damage on the knight. He summoned a glowing purple blade and launched Stingmon's trademark attack.

"Spiking STRIKE!"

Dinobeemon zipped towards Omnimon and dunked his blade through the cracked armor, successfully chipping off the cracking surface, only to find out in dismay that Omnimon's torso was pure armor. The fifty-or-so centimeters deep hole he managed to produce was not enough to injure Omnimon, or even hurting him at all. Omnimon seemed to find Dinobeemon's effort amusing, but did not take any chance of letting the insectoid Ultimate get away. He slammed his cannon onto Dinobeemon's unprepared back, destroying his wings. Right in midair, he de-Digivolved back into Ken and Wormmon and were in danger of falling a hundred foot down below.

Ken closed his eyes but was surprised to find himself being caught…by Sylphimon.

"Right on time," he commented with relief. He was on Sylphimon's massive arms, and Wormmon was perched on top of her head.

"What's a girlfriend for anyway?" Sylphimon replied quickly as she flew them off to safety.

Omnimon seemed to be steadfastly growing impatient with how the situation was going. He was winning, but he desired to finish off the battles as quickly as he could to claim victory. With the three Mega unable to fight for the time being and two Ultimates defeated, he only had to deal with another four Ultimates. He saw little threat in Paildramon and Sylphimon and had chosen to ignore them blatantly despite Paildramon's continuous barrages of bullets. Omnimon however felt that the two angels were more worth of attending to; Angewomon possessed the ability to immobilize him and collect energy from other Digimon, while MagnaAngemon had proven the danger of having him around when he attempted to suck in WarGreymon, a fellow friend and partner to a DigiDestined, inside the Gate of Destiny.

Angewomon and MagnaAngemon began attacking from both Omnimon's sides, the female angel firing the Celestial Arrow one after another while MagnaAngemon attempted to slice any body part of Omnimon with his mighty Excalibur sword, only to be met with failure as Omnimon was careful to guard his surrounding. MagnaAngemon's glowing blade was even more dangerous than Dinobeemon's which to his opinion, was a pitiful attempt. While Dinobeemon had managed to create a glaring hole now present at the center of Omnimon's body, the Mega had no doubt that MagnaAngemon could do worse. He needed to eliminate the angels.

"Transcendence Sword! Supreme Cannon!"

The exalted knight spread out both arms wide, the sword aimed towards Angewomon while the cannon pointed over MagnaAngemon. With a loud roar both weapons glimmered with intense lights as loud rumbling sounds were heard as Omnimon summoned his power to put an end to Angewomon and MagnaAngemon once and for all. He lashed his sword out, releasing magenta stream of energy assault which Angewomon attempted to counter with her Heaven's Charm. Her effort proved to save her life, as the holy energy generated by the Heaven's Charm managed to absorb a portion of the deadly Transcendence Sword's power. Nevertheless she still was at the receiving end of Omnimon's attack while the latter was not. She was hit and was sent crashing over a pile of sands not very far from the battlefield, where the devolved DigiDestined and Digimon were currently at.

MagnaAngemon decided to use a different method in countering the cannon attack. He activated the Excalibur and zoomed towards the tip of Omnimon's Garuru Cannon, ignoring the flickering lights which signed the activation of Omnimon's Supreme Cannon attack. Brilliant blue light sparked from the cannon, but MagnaAngemon, adamant, glowed with silvery light as he increased his flight speed. The cannon released a stream of energy, but MagnaAngemon thrust his blade forward, resulting in the splitting of the one massive beam of energy into two separate ones. MagnaAngemon continued to fly forward, splitting the intense ray of energy as he reached the tip of the cannon closer and closer. The two cut beams were fired haphazardly across the deserts, one hitting the foundation of Milleniumon's castle while the other streaked just above the fallen Phoenixmon, Kuzuhamon and Rosemon, hitting a faraway stone formation located on a barren, sand-less region of the desert. The archangel of Hope reached the tip of the cannon, and impaled his blade on its steely surface. The cannon, however, was as hard as diamonds and MagnaAngemon was not able to inflict damage on it just as he had hoped. However, he still had another trick up his sleeve; another trick, which would not require the Gate of Destiny, but equally as dangerous. He had demonstrated this technique only once before, having just mastered it.

"Soul Banisher!"

The holy blade sparked with brilliant light as it swept all over Omnimon. MagnaAngemon shook violently in midair as more and more power was forced out from his body, flowing into the blade. Omnimon was very strong; it would take a lot of MagnaAngemon to just halt him. But it looked like MagnaAngemon's effort was working, as Omnimon ceased attacking Angewomon with his sword, and the cannon was no longer emitting the extremely cold and powerful stream of energy. His eyes no longer had the crazed look reflected, replaced by a dazed look. Omnimon was not released from Milleniumon's possession just yet, but MagnaAngemon's attack seemed to be able to stop him for the time being.

Angewomon fluttered beside MagnaAngemon and they were joined by Paildramon and Sylphimon, the remaining two Transdigivolved ones other than them, below. She looked at the two of them.

"Yolei, help free Phoenixmon from the ice," Angewomon instructed quickly. "Davis, I need you to carry Kuzuhamon and Rosemon here. TK's going to need their powers to beat Omnimon."

Paildramon and Sylphimon immediately followed Angewomon's orders, which in actuality, came from Gatomon from within the female angel. Out of all Digimon, the old and new team, Gatomon had more experience than any of them put together. Her years of servitude under Myotismon had taught her a lot. And right now, she had a plan.

"What are you planning, Gatomon?" Angewomon asked silently.

"_MagnaAngemon's Soul Banisher attack not only work to…well, banish souls of Digimon out of their bodies, but in this case it might also be effective to permanently remove Milleniumon's influence from inside of him. However in doing this, MagnaAngemon alone will not be able to do just that. He will need power, and judging from the way Kuzuhamon has helped him back during the fight we had with ChaosSeadramon, she is the ideal girl to power up MagnaAngemon. However, with only power MagnaAngemon might accidentally banish Omnimon's soul away…which is where Phoenixmon, and to a certain extent…US, will enter. We and Phoenixmon both have holy powers, Kari. And holy power is just what we need to control MagnaAngemon's Soul Banisher, to block the attack from removing Omnimon's digital soul while vanquishing any of Milleniumon's dark traces."_

Angewomon was astounded by the idea, which sounded thoroughly complicated that nobody else could even _dream_ of coming up with.

"How did you know this, Gatomon?"

"_Let's just say that if there was any good in me being under Myotismon's service, THIS is it." _

Seconds later, Angewomon was joined by Paildramon, who was carrying Kuzuhamon and Rosemon. Behind the humanoid dragon, Sylphimon and Phoenixmon floated in the air.

"Kari? So what's the plan?" Paildramon asked.

Angewomon smiled and explained Gatomon's plan to the others. As she'd expected, Paildramon and Sylphimon both were having slight difficulty in grasping the attack. Rosemon too, judging from her confused expression, was having the same problem. However both Phoenixmon and Kuzuhamon, the two essential players in Gatomon's plan, understood the plan.

All the while, MagnaAngemon remained oblivious to what was happening behind of him. His mind was set to banishing the dark traces of Milleniumon's influence over Omnimon.

Silently, Kuzuhamon slid down Paildramon's grasp and floated in midair. Rosemon joined her, holding her hand, knowing what she had to do.

"Paildramon, Sylphimon…hold Rosemon's hand, the both of you. Your powers and Rosemon will be accumulated with my own to be transferred to MagnaAngemon," the sorceress instructed. "This way, he might just be able to defeat Omnimon, and free him from Milleniumon."

The two said Ultimates looked at each other. "You don't have to ask us twice," Paildramon quickly said and joined his draconic paw with Sylphimon's furred one. Sylphimon then joined hand with Rosemon and the fairy held Kuzuhamon's free arm tightly.

"Ready when you are, old girl," Rosemon said encouragingly to Kuzuhamon.

The four of them soon found themselves trapped inside a calm whirlwind of cherry blossoms, summoned by Kuzuhamon's staff. They glowed, and in a blink of the eye Paildramon and Sylphimon de-Digivolved back into their composite selves and were lowered slowly towards the ground by the cherry blossoms, which surrounded them separately. A meter away from the ground where Ken, Cody and their partners were waiting, the cherry blossoms suddenly vanished and Davis, Yolei and Veemon plummeted down while Hawkmon instinctively flapped his wings to maintain balance.

Ken immediately leaped up and with grace and fluidity that were usually demonstrated in the movies, caught Yolei in his extended arms. He landed back on the sandy ground, but his knees gave up on him and he accidentally dropped Yolei on the piles of sands, much to the lavender-haired girl's chagrin.

"Whoops! Sorry!" Ken said quickly.

"My hero," Yolei muttered dryly, shaking her head as she stood up and wiped the dust from her pants. She then flashed Ken a warm smile and helped him back up. "And thank you."

Davis crash-landed on top of Armadillomon, which acted as a tension-breaker before he rolled on the sands with Xs in place of his eyes. Veemon was more fortunate when Wormmon splattered his silk threads to catch his dragon pal before Veemon suffered the same fate as his partner. Successful, Wormmon then guided Veemon's fall onto one particularly tall pile of sands.

"Aww…yuck!" the blue Rookie dragon complained. He got up and frantically pulling off the silk threads.

"Don't complain; I've just saved you," Wormmon admonished slowly. All of them then looked up to the remaining Digimon above.

Beside Kuzuhamon, Rosemon had already devolved back to her Ultimate form Lilymon. The petite pixie fluttered away as Kuzuhamon focused all the powers she received from Rosemon, Sylphimon and Paildramon at the tip of her staff, slowly channeling her own powers as she recited a _haiku_ that was necessary to perform the power transfer spell.

"MagnaAngemon, be prepared!" Kuzuhamon called out.

It was then MagnaAngemon realized the whole thing that was happening all the while he was up against Omnimon. Barely registering Kuzuhamon's call, MagnaAngemon saw her releasing two waves of purple energy beams shaped like two crescents facing each other. The crescents were made out of pure energy and around them were Kuzuhamon's trademark cherry blossoms. The flower petals and the crescents were joined together by crackles of pink electricity that was emitted from the crescents. MagnaAngemon saw Kuzuhamon devolving into Doumon as he received the power up, and his strength multiplied greatly. The power was channeled solely to his blade as he increased the intensity of the Soul Banisher technique.

Omnimon's eyes shot up wide as he sensed great power coming from his blade. Barely visible smokes began to emanate from all over his ivory-armored body. MagnaAngemon's technique began to work, and everyone saw it.

"Keep it like that, MagnaAngemon!" Doumon cried.

"It is time," Angewomon said, echoing Gatomon's thought inside of her. "Phoenixmon, release your holy powers straight towards Omnimon as soon as I release mine!" Clasping her hands together, Angewomon recalled the Heaven's Charm attack and released it towards Omnimon. The attack was blasted right onto the hole on Omnimon's chest armor. The faint smokes began to darken ever so slightly.

"Starlight Explosion!"

The magnificent attack confounded Omnimon greatly. The holy powers released from it seeped through Omnimon's body, primarily from the hole on his chest armor. The smokes blackened and Omnimon fell on his knees, and his body crackled with black electricity. Omnimon writhed in pain, rolling violently on the sands. Multiple electrical bolts shot out from the hole and blasted MagnaAngemon, Angewomon, Doumon and Phoenixmon. MagnaAngemon and Angewomon instantly devolved in midair while Phoenixmon separated into her composite selves as all of them began to plummet dangerously towards the desert sands. Doumon however, maintained her form and instantly activated her shield spell, catching the others before they crashed.

Omnimon glimmered with deep green light as the smokes emitting from his body thickened. He then shrunk, separated into two before vanished, leaving only the exhausted, unconscious forms of Agumon and Gabumon.

"Yes! YES!" Kari cried happily, thrusting an arm up. "We beat them! Tai and the others will be ok!"

Gatomon narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "I doubt Milleniumon will keep his part of deal. That slimy scum…"

What Gatomon was going to say was left unknown as black and green energy specs began to form in front of the devolved DigiDestined. Milleniumon appeared in a puff of black and green smokes, looking beleaguered, with his yellow eyes reflecting malice.

"He doesn't look too happy," Davis noted with a small grin. "'course, that's only because we've beaten him!"

"I don't think he's going to keep his part of bargain," TK said scathingly as Davis helped him up. The blond was weakened due to the stress he had experienced as MagnaAngemon.

"He promised, though," Ken reminded.

"But then again, he _is_ a villain," Yolei said thoughtfully. "And since when does villain want to keep his part of a bargain when he's the one losing? You don't get to see those honor-bound villains these days."

Milleniumon eyed the fallen DigiDestined loathingly. The words exchanged between the DigiDestined ringed on his ears. He had the chance to wipe out them with one blow, with all of them weakened severely from the previous battle they had with the partners of the older DigiDestined. Milleniumon was not surprised that they had managed to beat Omnimon and the other four Ultimates; it only confirmed to him that defeating the DigiDestined would not be so easy. Inwardly, he smiled. A treacherous plan began to form on his mind.

"_Two energy signatures not under my command are lurking in my castle,"_ he thought sinisterly. _"Perhaps they are looking for their friends there. Very well, I shall surprise them. They will not have anybody to be rescued. I have no use of the DigiDestined anymore. Should I release them, eventually they will stand together fight me. However, why should I be worried? I am not what I was. I am stronger now. These composite selves I have are much more potent than my previous ones. Chaos Wargreymon's body, as Machinedramon, and the Kimeramon with the digital data of Devimon, a menace once feared throughout the Digital World. With these bodies, I might be able to TRANSCEND beyond my Zeed form. Heh, heh…well, the DigiDestined are of no use to me anymore but I sense greater powers coming from the two intruders inside." _

Silently he raised an invisible barrier around his castle. Then, Milleniumon raised one long arm and waved it slightly. "DigiDestined, your words are definitely unflattering. I am glad to have proven you wrong. Here!"

Six streams of green energy beams shot out from the highest window of the castle and spattered all across the DigiDestined. The unconscious forms of Tai, Matt, Sora, Izzy, Mimi and Joe appeared when the green lights vanished. Milleniumon then threw their Digivices on their unconscious forms.

"It was an enjoyable battle, I have to admit. Now I have seen how far your powers and resourcefulness could take you…I am prepared to face you. Not that I need it, I am powerful enough to defeat you…but then again, why should I not see your talents? Previous villains have been known to make the mistake of underestimating their opponents, which have led to their downfall. You children have always come up with a miraculous comeback whenever the villain was too much for you to handle. I should know; I have experienced it three times already, haven't I? Four times a charm, I believe. Now, take your friends and leave….but be forewarned, DigiDestined. In three days time, I shall be coming to your beautiful world."

"WHAT!" the DigiDestined all shouted.

"Don't you dare!" Davis cried angrily.

Milleniumon snorted. "Why should you be so worried? You have Omnimon at your side now. You yourselves, I daresay, are all very powerful Ultimates. The other four you have fought are now Ultimates as well. I cannot take back the powers I have bestowed them. Combine your powers, call for your allies, I could care less. Band together, then perhaps you might provide me with a real _challenge_!"

"What's there on our world that you'd want?" Cody asked quietly. His eyes however blazed with silent anger.

"The technology of your world is what created the Digital World. I am a creation of your world too, being a Digimon. Now, what could be said when a creation _destroys_ its creator? I shall leave it as such for you to ponder about. Remember…three days, no more, no less. Ta!" With a flash of green light Milleniumon vanished, and his castle emitted a green barrier which looked absolutely impenetrable.

The good guys were all appalled on hearing what Milleniumon had said. The DigiDestined began to panic.

"He can't be serious!" Davis said loudly. "Can he?"

"He's dead serious," Gatomon said finally. "The human world is in grave danger if Milleniumon invades it."

"What should we do now?" Yolei asked shrilly. "We can't allow Milleniumon to do that! Our parents…our families…they're in danger if Milleniumon…"

"Do not panic! All of you will have to regroup," Doumon reminded sharply. "Three days, he said. That is all the time you have to look for reinforcement."

* * *

"Something's not right," Gennai said suspiciously to HolyAngemon who was walking cautiously behind him.

The two of them spent the whole time searching the castle for the captured DigiDestined and their friends who had disappeared. They had refrained from entering the main chamber located at the top of the castle, where Milleniumon dwelled. Then when Milleniumon left the castle once again, the two of them rushed inside and saw the captured DigiDestined. However, before they could attempt to rescue the DigiDestined, to their surprise the six chosen children vanished. By looking outside the window they had seen the final outcome of the battle but could not hear the words exchanged by Milleniumon and the younger DigiDestined.

"We better leave now. Milleniumon is coming back," HolyAngemon warned.

"What about Piximon and the others? They're here too, I'm sure of it," Gennai pointed out. "We have to look for them too."

"There is no time now. We have to flee this main chamber; Milleniumon is coming back any minute now. And you are not so certain of the outcome of your plan."

"I've said it before; I'm pretty sure it will work."

"Until you are positively sure, we shall not take that chance. Let us teleport out of this castle instead."

The two of them attempted to teleport out of the castle, but found out that they were unable to do so. Something was blocking them from moving out of the castle. Then to their horror, Milleniumon materialized inside the chamber, sneering at the both of them. His presence drowned both Gennai and HolyAngemon with his shadow.

"Well, well, well….what do we have here? A priest mode MagnaAngemon…and Gennai, the last remainder of the extinct Order of the Light! What's your hurry?"

Gennai scowled upon the reminder, and locked eyes with HolyAngemon. HolyAngemon nodded ever so slightly, and Gennai whipped out a grey ring from his belt. The ring had a white jewel embedded on it, which glistened in stark contrast against the darkness of the chamber.

"TRANSDIGI----"

Milleniumon however had another agenda in mind. Not wanting to fight, he sent out two energy bolts which slammed against Gennai and HolyAngemon. The bolts stunned them quickly before Gennai could finish his call. Both of them limped on the floor, unconscious and paralyzed, and Milleniumon let out a deep, hearty laugh.

* * *

Ryo and Monodramon materialized in front of a six-sided emerald green energy walls, floating in the midst of the space dimension. Peering closer, they could see a huge beast sitting inside, looking at them as if it was expecting them. It was a white furred tiger with blue stripes, wearing a helmet of the same color of the stripes. Ten yellow spheres orbited her torso. But what attracted Ryo's attention were the four eyes, which were brilliant blue as the sky and reflected peerless wisdom.

"I bid you my gratitude, brave Digimon Tamer Ryo Akiyama, and to you too, Monodramon," greeted the white tiger solemnly. "I only wish that we could meet in a much better circumstances."

"Baihumon," Ryo said in awe. He touched the energy field with the tip of his index finger, only to be mildly electrocuted by it. Quickly, he retracted his finger.

"Ryo, I feel funny," Monodramon complained, backing a few steps away from the energy walls. "Something is strange about these green walls. I'm feeling weaker."

"Strange, but I don't feel anything," Ryo said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"That's because these walls are made out of Digiranium, a kind of metal which is dangerous to Digimon," Baihumon said grimly. She let out a groan and stood up on all fours. Instantly the walls resized to compensate her standing height. "It is thought that the metal was destroyed permanently long ago by a group of ancient Digimon of the past, but apparently Chaos Specter was able to obtain it from an alternate Digital World dimension to use it against us."

"I never knew that such metal exist," Ryo said. "How are we going to free you when it's lethal to you?"

Baihumon looked as if she was stifling a smile. "That is why I am so grateful of you risking your life to come and rescue us. The Digiranium is lethal to Digimon…but bears no effect at all to humans. That is the reason why Chaos Specter is able to use it against us. Without the Digiranium, that vile human cannot hope to beat us. With it, he is able to confine us in imprisonment while monitoring us from his base of operations. And…hold on, the other three Harmonious Ones wish to speak to you as well."

Ryo looked all around him. "Really? I don't see them anywhere."

"That is because they are confined a thousand miles away from where we are. No, they will be communicating with you via me. The four of us share a psychic rapport, which allows me to see what they see and to feel what they feel. We can also communicate with each other using this bond we share together for centuries."

Ryo was about to ask another question but was silenced when Baihumon's eyes glimmered with white light. Then, the blue color in Baihumon's three eyes changed – into steel grey, earth brown and fiery red. The fourth eye remained the same sky blue.

"_Greetings, Ryo Akiyama,"_boomed a thunderous voice, which sounded sagely yet kind at the same. It seemed to come from out of nowhere, but Ryo noticed that when the voice appeared, Baihumon's now-brown eye shone brighter than the other three. _"I am Azulongmon, and on behalf of Zhuqiaomon and Ebonwumon, we owe you our gratitude for your willingness to save our life. Time is running out, Ryo. We are placing our hopes in you to come up with a method to rescue Baihumon. Once she is released from her imprisonment, she will be able to free us three."_

"We'll do our best," Ryo promised.

"_Well? What are you waiting for? Get to it already, human! Do not waste any more time!"_ roared a shrill male voice, sounding more annoyed than real anger. Ryo however was unperturbed and stared defiantly into the fiery red iris of Baihumon, recognizing immediately the attitude of the sovereign behind the red glow, which seemed to stare back at him with an equal stubbornness.

"_Child, do not mind Zhuqiaomon. He has been ornery for as long as I remember, but his cantankerous nature has profoundly increased ever since his capture,"_ said a comforting wizened voice, which sounded like two people speaking at the same time, with one voice being loud while the other softly echoed the words of the previous speaker.

"Ebonwumon is right. And Zhuqiaomon! As a sovereign, I expect you to be better-behaved than this, especially in front of a human," Baihumon scolded. "The child is here to rescue us, so control your temper for the time being and show him some respect!"

Zhuqiaomon didn't reply, and the red eye of Baihumon reverted back to its original color.

"_I await your arrival to release me from my imprisonment, child. I believe in your resourcefulness. Until then…"_ the steel grey eye changed back into blue as well.

"_Until we meet face to face, Ryo,"_ Azulongmon said, and with him leaving, Baihumon's eyes all returned to their normal blue color.

"We usually were able to maintain communication with each other far longer than this," Baihumon said slowly. "Each of us is feeling a great strain in our depleting powers when we attempt to join our thoughts together, whereas in our strongest we could always maintain connection for months, years even. And…oh no! I don't believe this! This is impossible!"

"What is it, Baihumon?" Ryo asked quickly.

Baihumon took a deep breath and looked at Ryo gravely. "Ryo, you need to hurry and release me. Ebonwumon…he, he has _de-Digivolved_!"

Baihumon sounded profoundly disturbed, and Ryo raked his brain for a solution. He looked at Monodramon. His partner was too weak to Digivolve, but partners of Digimon Tamers could be powered more in another way than just Digivolving.

"Are you up for some DigiModifying, buddy?"

Monodramon contemplated his chance. "I guess so, as long as I'm away from the field."

Ryo nodded and took out his D-Power Digivice from his left pocket, and a card from his right. He slashed his card through the slot on his Digivice and pointed it towards Monodramon.

"**DigiModify! Avenging Knight, Activate!"**

Two jousting staffs appeared on Monodramon's paws. Ryo immediately seized both staffs and made it to the green energy fields. He impaled both staffs through the energy walls and instantly, an explosion of light ensued and Ryo was hurled away by it. Monodramon was able to seize him, and while standing, Ryo noticed that the energy field had disappeared. Baihumon was there, standing on all fours with a depressing expression on her stern face.

"Thank you, Ryo…but I am afraid that we are late. Ebonwumon and Zhuqiaomon have regressed…but to what level I am not certain. The mental link we share together is gradually diminishing; I could barely track their mental signature." She then lowered her body. "I usually do not permit anybody to use me as a means of vehicle, but with you I am willing to make an exception. Climb on me, and I shall transport the three of us to the locations of the other three sovereigns. We need to act quickly as any time soon… I too might de-Digivolve."

Ryo helped Monodramon to climb up the great white tiger before he hoisted himself up. Baihumon glimmered with white light and as soon as she was able to connect to the mind of the other sovereign who still maintained his form, teleported the three of them towards Azulongmon's location.

They were however, arrived just in time to witness Azulongmon's devolution into Armor level Digimon called Quetzalmon. Ryo immediately freed the devolved Azulongmon before making way towards the next sovereign, which was the turtle sovereign of the north. Ebonwumon was no more; in his place was a gentle-looking Armor known as Prairiemon. Zhuqiaomon suffered the same fate as his fellow comrades; when rescued he was already only a Champion unicorn Digimon, Unimon. Finally, Baihumon herself was weakened into Mikemon, a feline Champion resembling Gatomon with the exception of her orange and black spots pattern on her back and head.

Ryo just stood there, speechless. Never had he thought of the possibility of the guardian beasts of the Digital World being forced to de-Digivolve. But it only proved to him that the four sovereigns were also, once normal common Digimon.

"I can sense a great danger in the Digital World now," Mikemon said; traces of her strong voice were still evident, despite now she sounded just like Gatomon.

"The DigiDestined are fighting Milleniumon even as we speak," Ryo replied. "But come on; huddle together so that I can bring all of us back to the Digital World."

"I may be a Champion Digimon now, but that does not give you the right to command us around, human!" Unimon snapped irritably. Ryo sweatdropped.

"Oh, be quiet, Unimon, there's certainly no need to be haughty now, especially since the boy has saved us," Quetzalmon sighed. "Ryo, please proceed. If it is Milleniumon the DigiDestined are up against, then they will need all the help they can get."

"I am terribly sorry to break this to you, Quetzalmon…but we are no longer the four Harmonious Ones. What can four Champions and Armors do?" Prairiemon said dejectedly.

"Before I left my sanctuary to fight Chaos Specter, I entrusted one of my DigiCore to my apprentice. I had a feeling that the DigiCore would be needed someday. Looks like I was right."

"One DigiCore cannot restore even you alone to your sovereign level," Unimon pointed out bitterly.

"Perhaps not," Quetzalmon agreed. There was a glint in his eyes. "But it will greatly aid the DigiDestined."

"Going now," Ryo announced, taking out his Digivice.

The Digivice let out a bright blue flash, which enveloped all six of them. It transported them out of the space realm, into a tunnel of complete whiteness with pure blackness outside. For a while the six of them were flying their way within the tunnel, until Ryo traced the link to return to the Digital World. A portal opened at the end of the tunnel, and the six of them were pulled into the portal, bringing them back in front of a familiar white building, looking like a cross between an ancient temple and a contemporary laboratory.

Ryo let out a relieved sigh, recognizing Asuka Laboratory. "We're back."

* * *

..…

..…

**Author's Notes:**

This chapter ends on a high note. I meant for this update to be done by the 6th of December, in conjunction with Vengeance's second year in this website, but I was so busy I could not finish the chapter by the intended deadline. I now have a LiveJournal to respond to reviews and post notes about the stories, as I really don't favor the REPLY system provided by FF(dot)net. Please follow the link available on my profile's page. I'd post the link here but this site has a way of screwing up URLs should I type it here.


	40. The Calm before the Storm

**Previously on Vengeance:** The DigiDestined win the battle against Omnimon, but the worst has yet to come as they discovered when Milleniumon reveals his plan to invade their world in three days time. Meanwhile, it's another win for the good guys when Ryo too, has successfully rescued the four sovereign Digimon, although the four guardians are no longer what they used to be. In three days, a titanic battle will ensue, but in the meantime, it's time for the DigiDestined to unwind, and discuss of things that need to be done, and reinforcements that they shall need to acquire.

* * *

As Ryo was about to enter the Asuka Laboratory, a pink pillar of light materialized before him. From the pillar, the forms of Kari and Gatomon appeared, and as it happened all of a sudden, had Ryo not been alert enough he would have collided into Kari.

"Woah!" Kari cried in surprise, eye widened. Gatomon, having more keen sense of reflex, made a backward flip instantaneously. "Ryo!" Kari exclaimed, blushing furiously as she took in Ryo's profile. "Uh…Ryo where's your shirt….uh…I mean, when did you get back?" she stammered, and blushed again and cast a glance aside. Not waiting for Ryo's answer she quickly turned away from the older boy and walked into the laboratory.

Ryo followed her. "I used it to bandage Monodramon's wound after a battle." He shrugged indifferently and wondered why the girl was so flustered.

"Oh…I see…" Kari said distractedly as she looked around, noticing its usual occupant, and the one she was looking for, missing. "Where is Gennai?"

Ryo stood beside her and scanned around. "I have no idea. I went off to save the Harmonious Ones before you go to fight Milleniumon. Speaking of which," Ryo said and faced Kari with an interested look in his eyes, "how did the battle go? Is it over now?"

"Kind of," Kari answered hurriedly and went towards one of the Piximon working inside the laboratory. It was watching a small computer screen, showing the desert and the other DigiDestined and allies. "Piximon, I need you to transport all of them back here. The others without the Diginizers cannot make it back here with our teleportation function.

"Sure thing," the small Ultimate said and quickly worked on the coordinates. "Just give me a minute to key in the coordinates."

"Thanks. And…do you know where Gennai is?"

"Gennai and HolyAngemon have stepped out shortly after all of you," another Piximon quipped. "The coordinates recorded by the computers shows that they've gone off to the same place you had gone to."

"That's weird," Kari frowned. "We didn't see them. What were they doing there?"

"I'm sorry, but I am not informed of their intentions of going there," the Piximon said apologetically.

"That's alright," Kari assured it. "Maybe they'll be back soon."

Kari turned around once again and was greeted with Ryo's taller stature. She started slightly, not noticing when Ryo had come towards her at all. She was about to move aside when Ryo caught his wrist. Surprised, she let out a yelp.

"Why are you this flustered, Kari?" Ryo asked, leaning slightly towards the girl.

"Uh…in case you haven't noticed, the situation is rather awkward, with you not dressed wholly," Kari pointed out, blushing again. Silently she cursed herself for not being able to stop blushing.

Ryo crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against a marbled pillar inside the lab. "I doubt that's the reason. Surely you…ahh," he said, his face lit up as he snapped his fingers, grinning. "Surely, this hasn't something to do with…uh, back then has it?"

"Of course not," the DigiDestined of Light mumbled irritably, and a little bit too quickly. She glanced out towards the garden and saw Monodramon with four very strange Digimon. Quickly, she diverted away from the current topic they were talking. "Who are those Digimon? I thought you were supposed to save Azulongmon and the other three Harmonious Ones? Where are they anyway…how did _your _mission go?"

"Ooh, lots of questions there," Ryo smirked slightly when the pink shades on Kari's cheeks grew darker, and gestured with one hand outside. "The mission is a success," he grinned. "And you _are_ looking at the Harmonious Ones."

Kari's mouth hung open slightly, all pink shades on her cheeks evaporated at once. "That's them? But…what happened?"

"They've de-Digivolved," Ryo said simply. "Apparently their powers were drained by a strange kind of prison this Chaos Specter guy placed them in. Baihumon…now Mikemon, the Gatomon look-alike, was still Baihumon when I first saw her, but she devolved right after I've freed the others."

"I've never imagined they could de-Digivolve like normal Digimon," Kari said. "Aren't they supposed to be the guardians of the Digital World?"

"That doesn't make them immune to devolutions," Ryo answered, before a brilliant white flash of light erupted from the garden. "That must be the others. Come on."

Both of them quickly made way out, and was greeted with confused stares from the other DigiDestined (conscious ones, the older DigiDestined were still knocked out) and Digimon. Davis whistled, while TK's eyes widened slightly. Cody and Ken both merely raised an eyebrow. The angels and the other Digimon however had their attentions focused more on the four newcomers, who were lounging around the garden; human affairs did not really interest them for the time being. They were looking at them curiously; something was definitely different about the four, that they were not just Champion and Armor Digimon.

"Wow…what happened between you two?" Yolei remarked with a sly smile. "Kari…?"

Kari glared at the lavender-haired girl and stepped down the stairs of the lab. "It's not what you think," she said. Seeing Yolei gave her a curious look at her, expecting more answers from her seemingly, she sighed and mouthed, "I'll tell you later."

"If you say so," Yolei smirked.

"I _knew_ there's a good explanation," TK said assuringly to his best friend. Kari gave him a grateful look.

The four devolved sovereign Digimon watched the whole commotion with mild interest. Out of the four, only Quetzalmon, formerly Azulongmon, had seen the DigiDestined, back when Black Wargreymon attempted to destroy the last of the Destiny Stones. The others had only heard about them; this was the first time the DigiDestined were in their audience.

"Greetings, DigiDestined," Quetzalmon began, getting their attention. The DigiDestined turned to face a rather queer white serpentine Digimon, whose size was the largest among the newcomers. "We have corresponded before, in the previous year, while I was Azulongmon."

That shocked the DigiDestined and Digimon, save for Kari and Gatomon who had gotten the knowledge beforehand.

"You're Azulongmon?" Davis asked incredulously. His eyes darted from the serpent to the winged unicorn, to the Gatomon look-alike and finally onto a brown-furred Digimon that he could not notice any resemblance to any other creature he knew. "The four of you are the Harmonious Ones?" Davis had imagined, after seeing Azulongmon's impressive figure, that the other three would be not as diminutive as the ones he was seeing right now. "But…but…what happened to you?"

"Chaos Specter is what happened," the winged unicorn beside Quetzalmon snapped angrily. Davis was immediately taken aback from the harsh tone of Unimon. "Blasted human," Unimon muttered, ignoring Davis. "Using that blasted Digiranium to reduce us into such feeble states! Just wait until I am Zhuqiaomon once again, I shall make sure that he will burn with the hottest flames I could muster!"

"Forgive Unimon's temper, child," the brown-furred mammal Digimon said with a calm, wizened voice. "Formerly the old turtle of the north, Ebonwumon, I am now only Prairiemon, a form I had been several millennia ago. It is an honor to finally meet you, chosen children of our ancestors."

Prairiemon then cast an amused glance to Doumon, who upon hearing his introduction, had immediately leaped towards him and knelt before him. "Rise, child… there's no need for formalities now," he said gently towards the Ultimate-level priestess. "Had I still in my peak form, your action is definitely understandable…but as I'm now in a lower level than you…"

"Respect is earned, lord Ebonwumon," Doumon said evenly as she stood up. "But now, I am afraid I have a bad news for you. The Zeed Crystal has been taken away while you were captured."

"I am aware of that, Doumon," Prairiemon said, "as I am aware of our current predicament. While in captive we Harmonious Ones maintained our sight for the Digital World we are trusted to govern from our ancients. However events of recent occurrence escaped our knowledge, ever since we have devolved into our current forms. Tell me, then, what have we all missed in what I believe to be a short duration of time?"

The DigiDestined then took turn to explain Milleniumon's threat to the four Harmonious Ones, up until the ultimatum given by Milleniumon.

"The situation is very grave, children," Mikemon, formerly Baihumon, said, "not only to your world but to ours as well. If he ravages the Digital World then your world will cease to function; all digital appliances in your home world will not work. If he destroys your home world then he will also destroy the Digital World along with it…one world now cannot live without the other. It's a severe crisis for both worlds."

Everyone present was immediately alarmed by the shocking revelation.

"We will need all the help we can get," TK said distressingly. "But what should we do?"

"First thing first, I must return to the Blue Dragon Island, where the last of my DigiCore is safely guarded by Wizardmon," Quetzalmon said. "I do not know for sure whether he has given the DigiCore to Gennai or not; I have instructed him to do so should I am captured by Chaos Specter."

"We can establish contact from Asuka lab to the island," Kari suggested.

"Excellent," Quetzalmon replied. "Now, DigiDestined, you have three days before Milleniumon's arrival to your world. For now, you must go home and rest. Your strength is vital for you and your Digimon. We will gather what resources we have from all the Digital World, but we shall also need your help, children."

"Just tell us what to do," Davis said.

"You must do whatever you can to rally all the DigiDestined. Milleniumon is not an enemy to be trifled with. You will need all the help you can get."

* * *

_**VENGEANCE**_

**_Chapter 39: The Calm before the Storm _**

…..

…..

"Cody! Over here!"

Cody Hida looked over the mass crowd of people of the Shinjuku district subway, and saw two familiar figures waving at him. Though they had met only recently, Cody could easily recognize a fellow kendoka. These two particular kendokas were the one he had met during the kendo tournament three days back, a light-brown-eyed girl with her long brown hair tied back into a rather stylish ponytail, and with her was a thin boy with messy black hair.

"Setsuna! Yugure!" he waved back, and approached the two of them.

"Hey, Cody, wait up!" from behind, Cody could hear Yolei and TK calling him, but their voices were drowned considerably by the screeching sound made by the subway trains. They however managed to squeeze themselves in between the rushing people. It was lucky that neither of them decided to bring over their Digimon; they could easily get themselves lost in the huge mass of people. Both Yolei and TK had left Hawkmon and Patamon at Cody's place, where they would stay with Armadillomon for the whole day.

One day had passed since the battle with Milleniumon, and the DigiDestined had done some successful recruiting. The whole previous day, all the DigiDestined were rallying some of the former Dark Spore kids for help. Keiko, Noriko and Hiroshi agreed instantly, if not overzealously, and they in turn, helped them to trace some more DigiDestined around the city of Tokyo. After gathering nearly fifteen out of twenty former Dark Spore kids, with five shifted to other provinces, Tai decided that it was time that they go international.

TK had emailed Catherine asking for her assistance, and the French girl replied almost instantly, saying that the French DigiDestined team would be ready to lend a helping hand. She was ready to repay for TK and Tai's help during the Mamemon brothers' invasion on France. Mimi too, had easily gotten the agreement from the American DigiDestined team, since she herself was part of the group whenever she was there. Both French and American teams however, were the easiest they could acquire since two of the Odaiba members had links through them. Reaching out for the others would require more effort.

The senior six DigiDestined however, had maintained contacts between their fellow chosen all over the world. Sora corresponded often with the Russian team, despite their language barrier, both knowing next to none of the other's language. Yet, both Sora and the Russian team were now improving on their second language; English. Ken had received a few e-mails from Rosa Rodriguez of Mexico; to his relief the girl's interest of him had waned a little…the girl seemed to like Stingmon better now. He had sent out replies every now and then, but not to all of her letters. However, he had sent an email back to her telling about his request, and he had yet to get a reply. Reaching their fellow Asian counterparts – Mina Subramanian of India, Yong Yuehon of China, Dien Trang of Vietnam or the Poi brothers of Hong Kong – were possible thanks to Izzy's insight back during the invasion time to obtain some of their emails. He had gotten Mina and Yuehon's and he had sent emails to them, but none had replied just as yet. In the meantime, both Cody and Joe received affirmative replies from Derek McKnight of Australia, saying that the Australian team would be ready anytime they were needed, and that it was getting dull anyway during the winter time there.

Gennai and HolyAngemon's disappearance was still a mystery to any of them; nobody knew what had happened to them. The three angels of Asuka Temple tried to contact their teacher with some other means, but failed as well. However Quetzalmon had discovered that Gennai had obtained the DigiCore from Wizardmon not too long ago, told to him by the Sorcerymon safeguarding the Seiryuu Laboratory as Wizardmon was absent at his post at the moment.

After two long and rather fruitful days, Cody then received a reminder from Setsuna, about the invitation to her kendo teacher's birthday party. After the battles and their task to acquire help worldwide, Cody was encouraged by the others to attend the party. TK and Yolei both agreed to accompany Cody to Shinjuku. While the three of them went to Shinjuku, the other DigiDestined would resume with their task.

"Hey, Cody…glad that you could make it as well," Yugure Seito said as he shook Cody's hand. In his other hand was a green fancy paper-bag. "I was afraid that I'd be the only who showed up. Heck, I don't even know what to buy for Jonathan-san."

"He will be glad to see you two…four," Setsuna Meiji said warmly, as TK and Yolei came up from Cody's back. "Hello…you are Cody's friends, right? Takeru…and Yolei? Cody has told me that you two would be accompanying him this day."

"Likewise," TK said, smiling. "And just call me TK…everyone does."

"Hi!" Yolei said cheerfully and shook Setsuna's hand. "So you're Setsuna. Cody's spoken quite _fondly_ about you." She grinned, and noticed Cody's cheeks colored a bit.

"Really? That's nice of you, Cody," Setsuna said unblushingly. "Well? Shall we get going then? Jonathan-san's apartment is only a few blocks from here; we can make it there by walking."

"Oh, could we make a stop at any magazine store in our way here?" Yolei requested. "I need to get that mag me and my sisters read; it comes out every two weeks. That _Teen Icon_ magazine…you know?"

"Yeah, please," TK added, rolling his eyes. "She's been _dying_ to stop by at any bookstore to get that magazine ever since we board the train."

Setsuna just nodded and smiled. "There's a bookstore just outside the station; we can make a stop there."

The fivesome then made their way out of the station, with Yolei marching up the front, seemingly eager of locating the bookstore, with Setsuna following her closely, as if fearing that the lavender-haired girl would get lost amidst the crowd. Yugure and Cody were chatting about kendo, something that TK did not grasp fully, though he understood completely how the two young boys could easily get engrossed with the topic. They were walking behind him, and as TK walked, humming a song softly, he then noticed Setsuna standing just outside the station's entrance, shaking her head slightly. Following the girl's gaze, TK could see Yolei made a quick dash towards a rather packed bookstore, for some reason filled with many girls about Yolei's age and older.

"Is Matt on the cover or something?" he pondered, amused, thinking of the publicity his brother had gotten. "Couldn't be though; Matt would have told me…and Yolei was never really _that_ interested in Matt." He approached the bemused Setsuna and greeted her.

"Sometimes I wonder what's so interesting about that kind of magazine…it's never really informative, except if you count some pop stars' favorite colors and foods," Setsuna said to TK, much to boy's amusement. This girl was definitely a female-Cody.

"Sometimes, I wonder about that too," he replied, smiling while thinking of Jun Motomiya, Davis's sister who was such a fan of Matt that she had gotten both Matt and TK to sign her shirt when she got to meet both of them sometime ago. He then decided to change the topic. "So, Setsuna…are you the only child?"

Setsuna was visibly surprised by the sudden change of topic. "Well…no, not really. I have an older stepbrother who is studying law at Shinjuku University now. My father remarried after my mom…passed away. I was an only child before."

"Oh…I'm sorry," TK said sincerely.

"It's quite alright. That was a long time ago and I was still very young," Setsuna assured him. "Oh look, here comes Yolei."

True enough, they could see Yolei running back towards them, holding a rolled up magazine and with a triumphed expression on her face.

"Yes! Yes! I did it!" she said happily and showed them the magazine. "I was lucky! This is the last one that bookstore has. Lucky I managed to snatch it before one rude girl could get her hands on it. She actually _cursed_ at me for taking this mag before her…" Yolei's words trailed off as she unrolled the magazine. "A special edition…a special edition of Teen Icon, featuring him!" she squealed and displayed it towards TK and Setsuna. Cody and Yugure too stopped from their conversation to take a look at the magazine.

The magazine had a glaringly orange heading of the word Teen Icon in Japanese kanji, and below was a picture of a sideway profile of a very good-looking young man with his arms crossed over his chest. His dark brown hair was styled nicely, framing his chiseled face. The man was wearing only a pair of black jeans, and looked like a very athletic person judging by his tanned skin and toned muscles. He was grinning, displaying a row of white teeth. All around the profile of the man was captions about him, colored in vibrant yellow against the dark grey background.

TK raised an eyebrow. "_This_ is what the fuss was all about?" he asked. "If you ask me…he kinda looks like an older Davis…sans the afro-spiky hair."

"Humph. What do you know? You're a boy," Yolei snorted, and showed the magazine to Setsuna, who, to TK's surprise, was wide-eyed, seemingly genuinely surprised with what she was saying. "Aha! See, Setsuna likes him too, don't you?" She turned to face the younger girl with pleading eyes. "Uh…don't you?"

"Huh? Uh…" Setsuna stammered, looking uncharacteristically nervous. "Oh…you mean…him? Oh, uh…do you like him?"

"Darien Kanemuchi? Who doesn't?" Yolei laughed airily. "He's like, more famous than TK's brother, Matt Ishida. My sisters and I are his fans. We visit his website almost regularly. I think whoever maintaining the website must be a close pal of his; the webmaster really seems to know a lot about Darien. Oh, don't get any idea, TK, Cody…I still like Ken best, but I don't think Ken minds if I'm a fan of someone I won't bound to meet."

"Don't count your chickens before they hatch…" Setsuna said slowly and looked at TK, who shrugged, smiling sheepishly towards her. She did not seem to be surprised upon hearing the revelation that Matt was TK's brother, probably after seeing Matt in the tournament as well. And she had calmed down once again. "Well, shall we get going?"

The five children resumed walking until they reached a pleasant apartment complex. It was like the apartment complex where TK, Yolei and Cody were staying, with small groceries store located at the ground floor. Walking up, Setsuna beckoned that she and her family stayed at the second floor, while Jonathan Lee's apartment was at the fourth floor. After reaching the fourth floor, they walked towards the apartment unit at the end of the corridor, coming finally at the door labeled 408.

Setsuna pressed on the doorbell, and almost a second later, the door was opened by a very familiar blond man in a light green shirt and black pants.

"Setsuna!" Jonathan Lee said with a smile. "And…Yugure and Cody, glad that you two can make it. And…I don't think we've been introduced before?" he asked towards TK and Yolei, slightly puzzled but friendly nonetheless.

"Oh, I'm TK and she's Yolei," TK said quickly. "We're with Cody. I hope we're not intruding."

"Oh, no, no…I've told Cody he could bring anybody he wanted. Welcome. Now, come in, come in…" Jonathan Lee immediately ushered them in.

"Thank you, Jonathan-san. Here's something from me," Cody said and handed out a package he had been carrying with him. Yugure too, held out the green paper bag he was holding.

"Thanks, boys, but you shouldn't have," Jonathan Lee said, as he took the gifts. "I'm actually glad that you are here. It's not much of a party anyway, as I'm not really a fan of big parties and loud noises. A small gathering of friends was more like it."

"Actually, if it weren't for _me_, maybe there won't even be a birthday party," a feminine voice said. Out from the kitchen, a young woman, seemingly the same age as Jon, emerged. She was stunning, with light brown eyes and long light brown hair pushed to the back. She was wearing a pink blouse and a pair of blue jeans. "Hey, I see we have more guests." She waved at Setsuna cheerfully. "Hey, Setsuna." She approached the children. "Hi…I'm Kira. It's very nice to meet you."

"Hello, Kira," Setsuna greeted back warmly. "Do you need any help in the kitchen?"

"Oh no, no…I got it. Why don't you bring your friends into the living room, and I'll bring you some drinks. And Setsuna, where's your brother? He should be here by now. Please don't tell me he's still at his university dorm? He was here last night cooking all those dishes."

"Oh…I think he needs to get something back from his dorm," Setsuna said thoughtfully. "He told me it would just be a quick stop; he needed to submit his assignment by the afternoon. He spent the whole night working on it."

"Okay…" Kira said. She looked at the wall clock just as the door flung open, and piles of grocery bags were placed on the entrance before a rugged, strapping young man walked in. This man had striking strawberry-blond hair, contrasting greatly with his black jeans and white T-shirt. "You're a bit late, Kanto, but never mind," Kira said smilingly. She went towards him and gave him a small peck on the cheek.

"It'd be quicker if Darien got off his butt and followed me to the grocery store to get all these," the man, Kanto, complained. "But yeah…I know, he's been working until late at night, again…the price you pay for being a teen sensation," he said with a laugh. "I'd hate to be him this day…did you know that the interview that whatever-its-name mag conducted with him is published this morning? He'd be _mobbed_ by those rabid fan-girls if he steps out on the streets anytime soon."

Kira laughed. "Poor Darien…but hey, he's the one who chose it. Now he has to juggle studies and modeling and acting…I think he's sleeping on the couch in the living room right now. Why don't Jon and I handle these bags, and you go and wake Darien up? These kids are going to need a place to sit."

"Kids? What kids?" Kanto said, finally noticing Setsuna and the four children. "Oh…hey, Setsuna. I see you have friends over. Hang on, lemme get these snickers off and I'll go wake Darien." He took off his snickers and walked past Setsuna towards the corridor leading to the living room.

"Seems like a busy day," Cody commented, and looked up at Yolei. "Right Yolei? Uh…Yolei?"

The tall girl had a dazed look, her mouth forming an O. "Did you say Darien? As in, Darien Kanemuchi? He's _here_?"

Kira suddenly looked at Yolei suspiciously. "Yes, I did and yes, he's here. Uh…you're not a fan-girl now, aren't you? Not the rabid ones, at least? Please say no. He's so tired right now."

"Uh…no, no, I'm not. I'm just a _normal_ fan, yes I am…" Yolei said with a falsely cheery tone, which made TK, Cody, Yugure and Setsuna sweatdrop. Yolei was being plainly obvious.

Kira apparently noticed it too, and sighed. "Well, I suppose if you want his autograph, you can ask him later…and, what's that you're holding?"

"Huh? This? Uh…just a teen mag I bought on my way here?"

"Is it the one featuring Darien's interview? The supposedly _to-die-for_ Teen Icon summer special edition? Can I see it?"

Yolei sweatdropped and grudgingly gave Kira the magazine. The young woman unrolled the magazine…and she face-faulted instantly.

"Summer special edition indeed! Jon, Kanto…you really have to see this!" Kira said, straining so hard not to laugh. Jonathan Lee came out from the kitchen and Kira showed him the magazine. The blonde's eyes widened instantly and unlike Kira, he did not bother to restrain his chuckle. When Kanto came towards the foyer, Kira tossed him the magazine. Kanto's laugh however echoed all over the apartment unit.

"So this is why he's so afraid of coming out to public today?" Kanto said finally, his face reddened considerably from all the laughing.

"Hey…what's the commotion?" suddenly asked a groggy voice coming from the living room. Everyone looked over the direction of the living room, and saw, leaning on the wall near the other end of the short corridor, was a tall man wearing a red, rather wrinkled T-shirt and a pair of black jeans. He was rubbing his eyes with one hand while trying to fix his disheveled hair with the other.

"AIEEIEEIEIEIEE!" Yolei screamed suddenly. "It's him! Darien Kanemuchi! WAAAAH…. I'm so lucky!"

* * *

"Hey, Izzy, do you mind if I check my email here?" Sora asked. "I'm waiting for Anna to reply to my email."

Izzy looked away from the monitor. "Sure, Sora…you can use my laptop. It's there on the bed. And you're waiting for…whose email?"

"Anna…Borisovna Glazova," Sora said thoughtfully, "One of the Russian DigiDestined. I've sent her an email yesterday…I think maybe she has sent a reply by now."

"Oh, ok then. The Internet's working on that laptop too; help yourself," Izzy said while continuing to scan the monitor. "I'm also waiting for any news from Mina or Yuehon. Oh wait, here's an email from Mina.

_I will be very glad to assist the Japanese DigiDestined in the battle against this…Milleniumon. Do you want me to alert the other Indian DigiDestined? There are four of us currently, one of them being my younger brother Ganesh. And how shall we travel to Japan? I am under the impression that we will be traveling to Japan via the Digital World, am I wrong? Please send my regards to Hikari, Gatomon and Tentomon. I shall see you all soon._

"There is already more of the Indian DigiDestined? Last time it was only Mina," Izzy said thoughtfully. He began typing a reply. "Why not? The more the merrier."

"Izzy, I've gotten a reply from Anna. She, Yuri and Sonya will be able to assist us as well," Sora said happily.

"So we now have the French, Australian, Russian, American, Rosa from Mexico, and all of us from Odaiba," Mimi said, looking up from the magazine she was reading, while sprawled on the floor in Izzy's room. "Uh…should we alert the community? If Milleniumon's coming here, don't you think we should evacuate the community to someplace safe?"

"Matt and his mom and dad are on it," Sora answered. "Since his dad works for the TV, and his mom's a newspaper reporter, they could spread the message for quickly. Hey, Mimi…did you buy any newspaper along with that Teen Icon magazine you've bought this morning?"

"Uh…no," Mimi said sheepishly. "But, let's check out the news on TV. Anything of this significance will surely be on today's afternoon news."

"Hmm…maybe…" Izzy mused. "There's no sign of any panicked commotion yet. Maybe…"

However, before Izzy could finish the sentence, Mrs. Izumi, Izzy's adopted mother, came rushing in with a very concerned expression on her face.

"Izzy, is it true that a Digimon invasion is coming the day after tomorrow?" she asked fearfully. "I just saw the news…"

Mimi glanced towards Izzy. "You were saying?"

* * *

"So, where are you from, Ryo?" Mrs. Kamiya asked, during a lunch between her, her children, her children's Digimon partners, and Ryo Akiyama and Monodramon.

"Shinjuku, Mrs. Kamiya," Ryo said with a smile. This was true; Ryo just left out the part that he came from another world.

Ryo had spent one day staying at Asuka Laboratory, until Tai's insisted that he had to spend at least a couple of days at his home. Ryo finally relented; the main reason of his declining the offer was mainly because Kari did not seem to be happy with the decision.

The problem actually was rather silly. Back when Ryo met the eight DigiDestined for their first battle against Milleniumon, the young nine-year-old Kari had harbored a crush on the older boy. Ryo too had taken a liking onto the girl, but more of a brotherly type. Kari, innocent as she was, had thought otherwise, and said rather naively that she was too little to start dating, especially with someone almost as old as her brother. Ryo was surprised beyond belief of Kari's misinterpretation of his caring over her, and Mimi and Sora had to explain to the little Kari Kamiya about the situation. The girl grasped the whole situation only barely back then, and almost had forgotten about it…until she saw Ryo again. While the crush was long gone, the awkwardness still remained.

Tai however, was oblivious of the whole situation. Hence his ignorance when he invited Ryo to stay over at his room. Kari could not blame him, and certainly not Ryo too. She would have to live with it, or take action to solve it. But for now, she would just try to adapt.

"And, I see that you're also a DigiDestined, like Tai and Kari," Mrs. Kamiya continued as she handed Ryo a bowl of rice. Ryo thanked her politely. She then looked at Monodramon, sitting at the place usually occupied by the man of the house, Mr. Kamiya, who was currently at work. "What brings you to Odaiba, Ryo?"

"Oh..." he glanced towards Tai and Kari, asking silently whether they had told their mother the truth. Both Kamiya children nodded. "I'm helping Tai and Kari with some Digimon business. I suppose they have told you about it?"

"Yes, during dinner last night," the mid-30s woman sighed. "It's been a while since Odaiba receive any Digimon. Sometimes I wonder why this place seems to be a target for evil Digimon. Last time it was that creepy Dracula, then last year a whole bunch of them just appeared from out of nowhere. I heard that the same situation happened worldwide. But now…it will be only one Digimon, right?"

"Yes," Ryo nodded, seemingly impressed of Mrs. Kamiya knowledge of Digimon. "At least, that's what we're currently led to believe."

The woman beckoned for him to help himself with the side dishes, and Ryo noticed that both Tai and Kari looked rather hesitant. Shrugging it off, he took some chicken with soup and some fried vegetables.

"Is this…Milleniumon, a very powerful Digimon?" Mrs. Kamiya asked worriedly.

"Yes, I'm afraid he is, but we're gathering all the DigiDestined around to combat him," Ryo said, and began eating. His eyes shot out wide upon chewing the food, and he noticed both Kari and Tai shook their head. Not wanting to be rude to Mrs. Kamiya, Ryo resisted his desire to choke out the food, forcing himself to swallow it instead.

As impressed as he was of Mrs. Kamiya's knowledge of Digimon, Ryo could not say the same for her cooking.

* * *

"The party will start any minute now," Kira announced, and frowned. "We'll just have to wait for our guest of honor."

"Do you want me to call his cell phone?" Setsuna offered.

"No, there's no need…he's probably on his way now. Or at least, he better…he's not the _only_ one with assignments to be done. I still need to finish one chapter of Anatomy, and to make some notes for it," Kira sighed.

While waiting for Setsuna's stepbrother to arrive, and after Darien Kanemuchi took a short shower and readied himself for the birthday party, the DigiDestined and Yugure learned more about the adults. Kira Kanemuchi, Darien's younger sister, had taken a career path none of them had thought; she was currently a premedical student studying in the medical faculty at Shinjuku state university. She and Kanto Shigumi were dating, ever since high school; and the kids thought that they were really made for each other.

"I really should introduce you to a good friend of mine, Kira," Cody said. "He really wants to be a doctor, and strives hard to achieve it. Sometimes too hard."

"I hope he'll make it," Kira said sincerely. "Believe me, it wasn't exactly easy…nobody even _believed_ me at first when I told them I wanted to do medicine."

"What do you mean? I believed you," Kanto said quickly. Kira raised an eyebrow. "Ok…so I've said before that you should go for modeling…but isn't that supposed to be a compliment? And that was when we were still in high school."

Kanto was an animator-in-training, currently taking a course in animation and engineering, also at Shinjuku state university. He said that he would like to work for Disney one day. Kanto and Jon were housemates; they rented the apartment unit together, with some strings pulled by Setsuna's father in order to get the rent cheap. In exchange for getting cheaper rents, they struck a deal with the tenant to make some odd jobs for the elderly people who were also staying at the same complex. Fixing and painting were their main tasks, and they had no problem with it.

"I won't say that it is not a problem, Kanto," Jon pointed out smilingly. "Who was the one who grumbled all morning when old grandma Shinji came knocking at our door at 2 a.m. saying that she has a broken pipe?"

"Ok, ok, you've caught me," Kanto said, and laughed. "But really, it's good that you start being independent early; ready for the real world, those kinds of thing…"

"Wow," TK said, impressed.

Jonathan, or Jon by short, wanted to become a teacher. He was currently teaching kendo to local kids, Setsuna included, though both Setsuna and he himself were disciples of a kendo master who was currently ill. At first Jon did not think that he would want to become a teacher, but after getting the hang of teaching kendo for the children, and somehow having the knack of dealing with them, Jon decided that it was his calling. He however, pursued a double-degree in Science and Education, wanting a challenge for himself. He was also attending Shinjuku state university.

"Believe me, Jon is gonna be the best and coolest teacher ever," Kira said affectionately. "I should know; he was the one who tutored me for my entrance exam, and way before that, tutoring me and Kanto with school subjects. I don't think any of us could have gotten this far without Jon. You know, when I have kids, I'm gonna make sure to send them to him." With this, the others laughed, though Kanto turned a little shade of scarlet.

"And Darien, I don't think any of us could say it any better than the interview inside that Teen Icon magazine," Kanto then said, smirking. "A teen sensation, and also a student of IT of Shinjuku state, set to inherit the Kanemuchi Digital Enterprise."

Darien merely smiled as he humored Yolei, who was quizzing him with a wide range of questions, ranging from his favorite movie, song, hobby to his favorite animal.

"Bear," he said simply. "Little bear cub especially. I used to be friends with a bear cub once…" he said thoughtfully.

"Oh…" Yolei said, thinking that it was rather weird for a celebrity to like bears when the usual default answer would be either cats or dogs. "Oh well, I myself like a hawk. Not the big screeching ones, but a polite one…" Yolei suddenly realized that she had divulged more than she should, and stopped immediately.

"A polite hawk?" Darien asked back, amused, but did not actually look too surprised. "Well, everyone has their own taste, right?"

Yolei sighed back in relief.

They then proceeded to discuss the interviews, with Darien pointed out some things which were plainly rubbish and untrue. Finally, Yolei asked whether it was true whether Darien was dating a beautiful supermodel ten years older than him, which Darien replied with a resounding 'no' while the others laughed.

"Can I have your autograph?" Yolei finally requested. "And can I take a picture with you, please?"

"Sure. Do you have a camera?" Darien asked back, grinning.

"Oh darn it…if I know I would be meeting you, in person, I'd have borrowed my friend's digital camera," Yolei sighed.

"That's ok, I have a Polaroid camera," Kanto announced. "It's in my room; I'll get it for you. It's rather old, but dead useful for my assignments."

Kanto returned a while, and Yolei and Darien immediately took a picture. Kanto gave Darien the picture, and the teen sensation signed it.

"I think I'll take another picture of you two," Kanto smirked. "And send it to Teen Icon…they could use with a new, fresh gossip instead of the craps they usually publish, I could imagine a headline there. _Teen sensation Darien Kanemuchi sets his eyes on a middle school girl_…" Yolei blushed, while Darien threw a cushion towards the laughing strawberry blonde.

"Yolei really seems to be having a time of her life, eh?" TK nudged Cody.

The young boy merely smiled, somewhat distractedly as he observed some beautifully drawn pictures decorating the walls at a corner of the living room. There were five separate drawings, lined in a row. From left to right, it depicted a colorful Lego-version of what looked suspiciously like Agumon. Beside it was a bear cub wearing a blue hat, followed by an elegant yellow-furred bipedal fox. Beside the picture of the fox was a picture of a rather peculiar looking being, with kendo attire and wielding a wooden sword. TK gasped silently upon seeing the fifth picture…there was no mistaking that it was a picture of a DemiDevimon.

Above them was a framed picture of seven people, four of them children while three other looked like teenagers. It was easy to recognize that this was a picture of Darien, Kira, Jon and Kanto when they were younger. There was a redhead teen which they did not recognize. Another taller figure in black attire was standing at the corner, with black hair, pale skin and green eyes that looked quite familiar to them, but for the moment they could not remember who. The third unfamiliar person was a boy bearing striking resemblance to…

"Oh, I see you've seen some drawings of mine," Kanto interrupted. "What do you think about it?"

"They're very beautifully drawn," Cody commented quickly, looking at the strawberry blonde. "What are they?"

"Heh, heh… some ideas for characters for cartoons..." Kanto answered, somewhat nervously. "I drew them back in school…when the inspiration came."

TK and Cody looked at each other in silent, agreeing on one same fact. Those were no cartoon characters; it was clearly plain that the pictures were of Digimon. The drawing of DemiDevimon pretty much confirmed it. But before they could inquire even further, they heard someone coming in through the door. Seconds later, a man, wearing a rather formal light red shirt and black pants, appeared. He was not as tall as Darien or Kanto, but surpassed Jon in height. But what was striking about the man was his red hair, pulled back into a short ponytail. He was holding a newspaper. Both Cody and TK could see obviously that this man, who looked quite cool with his short ponytail, was the same redhead inside the picture they had seen.

"Sorry I'm late…but there's something you should see," the man said with a mature, rushed voice. He quickly took the remote control, lying on a wooden table between the sofas, and switched on the TV.

"And hello to you too, Max," Kira grumbled. "It's about time you show up."

"Hi, Max!" Setsuna greeted.

"Hey, little sis, Kira…" the redhead, Max, answered distractedly. "Look, it's even in the news."

"_We have received a tip off from a reliable source that an event similar to what happened in 2002's Christmas Day is going to repeat in one day time, maybe less. A Digimon identified as Milleniumon is said to be appearing in Odaiba on said moment. Sources have said that Milleniumon is not to be taken lightly; he is classified as being extremely dangerous. The civilians of Odaiba are advised to remain calm, as the DigiDestined – chosen children partnered with Digimon – are currently doing what they could to stop Milleniumon from wrecking havoc in our world. They are said to be gathering their allies, DigiDestined of various other countries, to join forces with them. The civilians are advised to evacuate to the city hall when alerted of the threat. This is Hiroaki Ishida, reporting for Fuji TV Breaking News." _

"What do you think?" he said, switching off the TV after the normal show resumed.

"Oh, dear," Kira said softly.

"Hey, TK…that was your dad in the news," Yolei pointed out.

It was then Max realized that they had visitors. "Oh…are you Setsuna's friends?" he asked. TK, Yolei, Cody and Yugure all nodded, and Max smiled slightly. "Sorry I'm late…I was caught up at the subway station; people were flooding the bookstore, wanting to get hold on the news of a possible Digimon invasion. I managed to grab one of the newspaper sold…yes?"

Cody had raised his hand to catch Max's, and everybody else's attentions. "Pardon me for asking this…but do you know anything about Digimon?" Cody asked.

The adults were visibly taken aback by the inquiry, but Jon seemed to be the calmest. "That's ok, guys…Cody, TK and Yolei are DigiDestined too… I saw them with their Digimon partners, devolved all the way in their In-training forms, during the Kendo tournament. All of them were there, though only six were with partners."

"Huh? DigiDestined _too_?" Yolei asked curiously. "And…how did you know such detailed information about us?"

The adults, sans Jon, cast each other contemplating looks. Kira sighed and leaned her head on Kanto's shoulder.

"I really don't expect this today," she said, pressing her head.

"I'll handle this," Darien said, smiling slightly. He turned to Yolei, the one he had been conversing the most. "Well Yolei, I guess you'll be getting more than unofficial interviews today," he winked. "But this is off the records, ok? We really have a lot to talk about, and this is no Teen Icon materials."

"I don't understand," Yolei said, scratching her un-itchy head.

"You said that you like a little, polite hawk," Darien continued. "Let me hazard a guess…your Digimon partner is a Hawkmon?"

The young DigiDestined were shocked. "How…how did you know that?" Yolei demanded. A horrible suspicion crossed her mind. "Are you guys…spies, or some government agents sent to learn about Digimon from us? Oh darn it, I knew I should have brought over Hawkmon with me…he'd be…"

"Yolei, relax, we're not agents or spies," Darien said assuringly. His expression became almost forlorn all of a sudden. "You see…we were once, like you. All five of us."

"Like us?" Yolei asked. She raised an eyebrow. "Like _what_, exactly?"

Cody and TK held their breaths, their eyes drawn towards the pictures they had seen before once again.

Darien sighed and looked at the other four adults before turning back to face the bespectacled girl. "Sorry Yolei. I should've been more direct – the five of us, we were once DigiDestined, too. Like you."

* * *

…..

…..

**Author's Note:**

A relatively short chapter with many explanations and no battle; I've been wanting to write this chapter for a long time. The truth is I have only plans on making up this whole chapter solely of Cody, TK and Yolei going to Jonathan Lee's party, up till the revelation, but while typing this I guess I'd add the beginning of public reaction of Milleniumon's upcoming 'visit' to Odaiba, and the whole Ryo-Kari thing hinted in previous chapters. Hopefully this is not an information-dump chapter, as some might say. Boy, the next few chapters are going to be even harder to write, with the DigiDestined around the world making an appearance all at the same time. Not ALL will make it, some of the more familiar faces will appear, and of course, some that are vital for the sequel.

And of course, the appearances of the adults DigiDestined…what do you think? I hope it's not too rushed.

Anyway, here's me wishing you a Happy New Year 2006. May this year brings you good luck and happiness.


	41. Prelude to the Storm

**Previously on Vengeance: The DigiDestined begun gathering helps from fellow chosen all over the world to assist in their upcoming battle with Milleniumon. In the meantime as peace reign for three days – as promised by Milleniumon – TK, Yolei and Cody attend a birthday party organized by an acquaintance of Cody. However, what they do not expect is that they will be meeting their DigiDestined predecessors…**

xxx

xxx

"We were once DigiDestined, five of us at first. We're said to be the first, chosen to fight the Legion of Darkness which plagued the Digital World," Darien Kanemuchi began. The way he spoke had a certain charming quality in it and his introduction had successfully pulled the attentions of everyone towards him. He smiled slightly, fondly, as he recalled memories of his teenage years. "It was a year of adventure, battling one major-domo bad guy after another. It was tough, too. Sometimes we really had run out of ideas, until a miraculous solution came our way. Sometimes, sacrifices had to be made. It wasn't just a fight…it was a full-fledged war which we won, but it wasn't a complete total victory on our side. The baddies weren't like any cliché villains you see in cartoons or TV series, they really meant business. But more importantly, despite the adventure and the hardships, we've found dear friends…our partner Digimon."

Darien paused momentarily as he scanned the faces of his audience. His four fellow DigiDestined – Max, Kira, Jon and Kanto – as well as the younger DigiDestined – TK, Yolei and Cody – and some non-DigiDestined guests, all of them were sitting around him closely. Yolei was sitting the closest to him, her brown eyes unblinking, while Cody had his green eyes fixed on him thoughtfully. Darien shifted his gaze towards the blonde DigiDestined TK, and was slightly surprised to find the boy having a look of recognition on his face.

"I remember Gennai telling us about you guys," TK admitted. "It was during our last battle with the Dark Masters, when I was eight. I can't believe that I'm finally meeting you guys in person. This is totally unexpected!"

"Gennai?" Kira inquired, her brown eyes widened. Her voice was wavering a little, but she looked at TK expectantly. "You know Gennai? How is he?"

The suddenness of Kira Kanemuchi's inquiries surprised TK a little, but he saw no wrong in answering them. "He's fine, and has been like a mentor to us all this time. Umm…why'd you ask?"

Kira's gaze was lowered, and Kanto Shigumi shifted slightly on his seat. Kira didn't seem to want to answer TK's question, or having difficulty coming up with an answer. Clearing his throat, Kanto decided to take over. "Uhh…see that picture?" Kanto beckoned towards the framed picture of the seven kids which hung on the wall, near the drawings of five Digimon. "The kid with brown, spiky hair wearing a Jedi-like outfit…that's Gennai. He's a friend of ours back then."

TK nearly did a double-take, while Yolei gasped in surprise. "Gennai as a kid? Now I've seen everything!" TK said. "We first saw him as an old man, then during these recent months he appeared to us again during the Daemon Corps invasion on Odaiba as a young man…and now, I'm seeing his picture as a kid." He shook his head slowly. "Wait till the others heard about this."

"I've thought that he looks familiar somehow," Cody said thoughtfully. The resemblances were rather obvious. "Was Gennai a DigiDestined?"

"Well, he wasn't officially a DigiDestined," Jonathan Lee answered with a smile. "He's part of an order called the Order of the Light. But we've made him an Honorary DigiDestined, so he was a part of the team too. Oh, and by the way, did you by any chance meet the members of the Order?"

"I've never heard of the Order of the Light," Yolei admitted ruefully.

"I have," TK said grimly. Yolei and Cody looked at him, both raising their eyebrows. TK didn't look too happy when he said that. "Well…sort of, I think. When we had our first adventures, there was one time when Matt and Tai….umm, that's my brother, and Kari's brother who was leader of our group. Anyway, they were having a fight, until suddenly some force or entity possessed Kari. It was a female, no doubt, as the voice that came out from Kari was female's, yet it wasn't Kari's voice. She told us about our partners' history…their DigiEggs were in this some kind of a lab, and there were people in clothes similar to Gennai's around. Then the Dark Masters came to steal the DigiEggs, Digivices and Crests, having heard that a group of DigiDestined would come to the Digital World. Gennai managed to escape with the DigiEggs and the Digivices, but as for the rest of the people…Piedmon – leader of the Dark Masters – killed them."

Instantly, a look of horror swept by the faces of all five older DigiDestined, having heard what TK had just said. They looked like they were sick all of a sudden, as their faces had become so pale all of a sudden. Their reactions surprised the younger DigiDestined as well. TK immediately guessed, by their reaction and by the way Jon had inquired about the Order of the Light, that the older DigiDestined must have had close ties with the members of the order.

"I don't believe this," Max Miyazaki said, with a hint of sadness, anger and disbelief at the same time. "The order…gone?"

TK nodded slowly. "Gennai managed to survive, and he raised our partners over the safety of the File Island. Then, we came to the Digital World. If it weren't for Gennai, we wouldn't be able to meet our partners at all, and the Dark Masters would've succeeded in destroying the Digital World."

There was a moment of silence, as the adult DigiDestined began processing the facts that TK had just said. The deaths of the members of the Order of the Light were truly shocking to them.

"Gennai and Lady Angella must be really heartbroken," Kira suddenly said. Her brown eyes were shining.

"Who's Lady Angella?" TK inquired.

Kira observed TK intently, seemingly trying to figure out of how to answer him. "Have Gennai ever mention to you about Lady Angella?" When TK shook his head, Kira nodded, her brown eyes looking away slightly as she answered. "Lady Angella is the Vanguard of Light. I think she was the one who possessed your friend Kari." She stopped there, but TK had a feeling that there was something more that Kira was not telling, but he didn't dare ask.

"That's one mystery solved," TK said. "It could also be her who helped Kari and me back when we were at the Dark Ocean Dimension. We were stuck there, and overpowered, when suddenly a pink light came down from the sky, and struck Gatomon. Gatomon and the rest of our partners have lost their abilities to Digivolve to Ultimate levels a couple of years before, but the pink light suddenly gave Gatomon enough power to become Angewomon again. However it was only a one-time thing; Gatomon couldn't become an Ultimate again right after the incident."

"Something similar has happened to us as well," Kira reminisced. "And it was Lady Angella who helped us out, by enabling my partner to become an Ultimate level Digimon and helping us escape that dark dimension." She shuddered slightly, and Kanto, an arm still slung across Kira's shoulders, pressed her shoulders gently to calm her down.

Yolei had been listening to the whole conversation raptly. However her eyes were still fixed on the group portrait. She could pinpoint each person in the picture with the adults present in the apartment now, except for someone. There was a teen, somewhat gothic in appearance with his all-black attire, jet black hair which was a total contrast to his pale skin and emerald eyes. Yolei could've sworn she had seen this person before, but it was impossible, as she had never met any of the older DigiDestined before.

"Who's the Goth guy? Was he a DigiDestined too?" she asked, pointing towards the picture.

"Oh," Darien's deep brown eyes observed the picture, and for a while, Darien seemed to hesitate in giving more explanation than just acknowledging it. But he then took a deep breath and went on to give Yolei her answer. "Yes, he was a DigiDestined as well. His name is Kit Ishizaka. He didn't join us until much later."

"Why isn't he here?" Cody inquired.

Darien's expression darkened. "Well, truth be told…we haven't heard of him ever since all of us returned from the Digital World. He did give us an address of where he was staying with his older sister, and we did try sending mails and pictures to him, but we never got a reply. After about a year, Max and I decided that we'd go there – it was an apartment at Shibuya – to look for him, but when we reached the given address, the people living there weren't Kit and his sister. And the new owner told us the strangest thing – the previous owners have vanished without a trace, but left the apartment intact with furniture and all. Now, it has been seven years since we all returned from the Digital World, and still…" Darien let his sentence hung, and shook his head. His eyes then darted towards the individual portraits of their partners, drawn by Kanto. "How about now, I tell you about our Digimon partners?"

xxx

xxx

_**VENGEANCE**_

**_Chapter 40: Prelude to the Storm_**

xxx

xxx

It was nightfall, in the midst of the wide, dark desert of Server. The air was still and no wind blew against the mountains of sands. Against the moons of the Digital World, Milleniumon's metallic castle gleamed in silvery-gray hue. And in front of the fortress was Milleniumon himself, his dark profile illuminated by the pale moonlights. He was standing very still; his four long extremities were clasped together. His eyes were closed, apparently oblivious of his surroundings.

The surrounding was quiet but soft wails were heard from the glowing spirit which was perched on top of Milleniumon's hulking body, yet the dark Digimon did not pay any attention to them. Different apparitions appeared within the yellow spirit, shouting and condemning Milleniumon. Images of Digimon, most of them machine types, appeared and disappeared within the ghastly spirit of Milleniumon. They let out echoing moans as their images swept by the spirit's head.

"After three days of meditation, it is now time to harness all the power that comes with the Digimon of Machine City, that I have absorbed," Milleniumon murmured, opening his eyes. "And thereafter, I shall pay the Digital World's chosen the visit to their home world, as I have promised them." His eyes flashed momentarily with violet light as he let out a deep, satisfied chuckle, and his eyes reverted to their normal state. "Powers harnessed…"

xxx

xxx

Meanwhile…

At the Old West Tavern, which was a local pub for the residents of the western quadrant of the East Sector, was still bustling with activity despite the time being already very late. Despite the fact that the tavern was situated literally out of nowhere, but still, that didn't stop Digimon from coming in. Patrons still came in and out of the establishment, and rowdy laughter was still heard amidst the chatting and yelling. From the outside, a lithe figure was heading towards the tavern, her presence alone attracting the attentions of the Digimon that exited the tavern. Whistles were blown, and some even stopped to gaze at the female, but she paid them no heed. Holding her head high, she continued walking until she reached the entrance of Old West Tavern.

When she pushed the salon doors open, it took about five seconds before all noises suddenly died out. Then, all eyes were fixed on her. Smiling inwardly, she resumed her pace towards the counter, where Digitamamon, the owner of the tavern, gave her a weary look with his yellow eyes. From the background, whispers were heard coming from the many patrons of the tavern, all directed towards the female newcomer.

"Isn't that her?"

"I recognize a beautiful female anywhere…but she does have some nerve showing up here again…"

"Look at her, though. She doesn't seem to appear worried at all."

Digitamamon merely snorted and looked at the newcomer. "What can I do for you, missy?"

"Just a pack of rrroot-beerrs," the female purred as she leaned against the counter. Her tails were flicked left and right, done on purpose to make the bracelets hanging there cling against each other. She tapped her sharp claws on the table as she waited for her orders, occasionally flicking her flaming red hair back.

From the other Digimon's point of view, the humanoid female cat seemed to want to attract others' attentions solely on her.

"Here you go, miss," Digitamamon said indifferently, putting a carton with six bottles of chilled root beers on the counter carefully with his hard-shelled head. How he had managed to carry the task out, one could only wonder, but he had been doing this for several decades and was quite experienced. "Six root beers, ready to go." Then, he narrowed his yellow, pupil-less eyes. "That will be sixty Digi-dollars, cash."

"Why cerrrtainly," his patron replied and took out several crisp Digi-dollars from the pocket of her Arabian-style trousers. She then took the carton gingerly and turned around, only to halt again in mid-turn. She could feel several familiar presences, from their scruffy appearances up to the foul odor which emanated from the canine trio. Beneath the semi-transparent violet veil which she wore to cover part of her face, the canines could see that the cat-woman was smirking.

"Remember us?" the leader of the trio, a Shadow-WereGarurumon spoke up. He eyed the Bastemon that was standing in front of her warily, keeping his distances. From either sides of the Shadow WereGarurumon, the BlackGargomon on his left was raising his Gattling-arms and was seething in anger, while the comic-looking Doggymon on his right hid behind his legs, whimpering slowly upon sight of the beauty in front of them. No doubt, they were reminded of their previous encounter not too long ago.

Several days before, the Bastemon known as Catrina, and her friend – a female Datamon called Nanomon – had came into the taverns. Thinking that the cat-woman was vulnerable, yet beautiful at the same time, Shadow-WereGarurumon attempted to make his move on her. Catrina had resisted, and had proven to be a somewhat able fighter – but she was unfairly outnumbered and thus, lost the scuffle. However, a stranger called Beowulfmon had come to her aid and had beaten them almost effortlessly. Ever since, the trio nursed revenge on Catrina and Beowulfmon.

"Didn't think you'd show," Catrina said coolly. She was observing the trio with disgust evident from the way she held her eyes. _Trash_, she thought silently.

The trio noticed that Catrina's tone was layered with venom in each single syllable. They looked around suspiciously. "Where's your friend, pussycat?" Shadow WereGarurumon inquired challengingly.

Catrina raised her eyebrow. "Who? Nanomon? She's not here." She smirked, knowing exactly that Nanomon wasn't who the werewolf was referring to.

"Not that tin-can. The knight with the shining armor."

"Beowulfmon?" The feline woman shrugged. "Well, he's not here either."

Shadow WereGarurumon bared his yellow fangs. He cracked his knuckles. "Is that so? Good. Then he will not be here to help you."

"Not that I'd need any helping," Catrina said offhandedly, and put the carton of root-beers back on the counter. Then she narrowed her green eyes. "Why? Planning on pushing me arrround again, like you did to me last time?" she challenged.

"Maybe," Shadow WereGarurumon said, grinning maliciously as he began to advance towards Catrina.

The tavern's other attendees began to see that a fight was brewing between the Bastemon and the dogs, and immediately attempted to clear out. Digitamamon sighed in exasperation, but knew that there was no stopping Shadow WereGarurumon and his gang. Catrina however, held one arm up high.

"WAIT!" she shouted commandingly. "Remain at your seats. This won't take long, I prrromise."

Digitamamon and the other attendees looked skeptical, but otherwise found themselves obeying the feline. They however, wisely cleared the nearby tables and chose to sit near the walls, away from the path between the counter and the doorway, where Catrina and the canine gang were currently at. Digitamamon snorted and jumped over the counter, single-handedly (although he had no hands) pushing the tables nearby them towards the walls. Knowing that a fight would usually involved damaged properties, Digitamamon wanted the damage to be as little as possible.

The clicks of Black Gargomon's Gattling guns were heard at about the same time Shadow WereGarurumon began to raise his sharp claws. Doggymon in the meantime, scooted under a nearby table and whimpered slowly. Catrina shook her head and readied herself as well, knowing that Shadow WereGarurumon and Black Gargomon were planning to attack her at the same time. She began channeling her energy to her paws and foot as a dark orange aura began to emanate from her body.

"Kaiser…"

"Gattling…"

Suddenly, Catrina darted swiftly between Shadow WereGarurumon and Black Gargomon, and jumped. As she jumped, she parted her legs wide in opposite ways, and began to spin. "Too slow, boys! HELTERRR SKELTERRRR!" she shouted triumphantly, and began to deliver flurry of kicks, punches and scratches, all equipped with her dark powers. She spun with unimaginable swiftness, like a raging whirlwind, and gave her enemies no chance to strike back. At the same time, she made sure that neither Shadow WereGarurumon nor Black Gargomon would move out of range of her attack, as she wanted to settle as quickly as possible. As she attacked her opponents, she began to see the effect of her Helter Skelter attack. The attack mainly caused her enemies to de-Digivolve, and thus…

Black Gargomon began to glow with dark green energy, and regressed into a small green-furred, lop-eared rabbit called Terriermon. Seeing that one of her enemies had devolved, Catrina used this chance to eliminate one foe and kicked Terriermon squarely on his face, sending the little rookie flying out of the doorway. She then turned her attention to Shadow WereGarurumon, who still managed to retain his Ultimate form. However, she was pleased to notice that his face now harbored a look of disbelief upon witnessing what she had done to his accomplice. Taking advantage of the situation, Catrina summoned more energy and delivered the same attack all over again.

Shadow WereGarurumon had no chance at all to strike back, and felt strange dark powers seeping through his skin. Suddenly he felt even more drained than before, it was as if the dark energy from Catrina was eliminating his own power from within. Having been an Ultimate for so long, Shadow WereGarurumon felt a strange sensation as his body shook, and it was at the same time when Catrina's kick landed on his chest. The force generated from the assault sent the seasoned Ultimate flying on the roof, crashing the ceiling-fan that was rotating ever so slowly, and for a brief second Shadow WereGarurumon hung limp on the fan blades…before his weight began pulling the ceiling-fan down. Catrina and many other patrons jumped out of the way when they heard a loud snapping sound, and the ceiling-fan plummeted down and crashed thankfully just on the wooden floor. That sent sands and dust all over the place, causing all the patrons to cough in reflex. When the dust cleared out, Shadow WereGarurumon was no longer there. In his place, which was in between the fan blades, was a beaten-looking Black Garurumon.

"That'll teach you," Catrina spat towards the half-conscious Black Garurumon as she sidestepped the wolf, heading towards the counter.

Digitamamon peered over the counter and scrutinized the damage done to his tavern. He grunted in disapproval and glared at the Bastemon.

"That will be an extra ten Digi-dollars, missy," he said.

Catrina took her carton of root-beers and looked at Digitamamon incredulously. "But I've helped you cleaning out this…this trrrash!" she protested.

"I know, and I thank you for that," Digitamamon said in a no-nonsense kind of way. "This is why I've deducted about sixty percents from the total cost."

"Sixty, huh?" Catrina considered, before finally nodding her head. The deal seemed fair enough in her opinion. "Well…ok."

After paying the cost damages, Catrina took the carton of root-beers and exited the establishment merrily. She was practically jumping with joy as she headed towards Beowulfmon's house, which would take her quite some time. It was midnight now, and she would reach the house in two hours time minimum. Catrina considered turning into her bestial cat form, but since she was carrying the carton along it would be impossible for her to do so. However, she thought that there was no need in rushing, as Beowulfmon, Wizardmon and Nanomon were probably fast asleep by that time. It made no difference whether she arrived at the house in two hours time, or when the sun began to rise.

As she walked, her mind was brought back to the past few days she had spent with those she could sincerely called, for the first time, as her dear friends.

How she had improved! That first came to her mind. Beowulfmon had made a point to spar with her every morning and evening, and during those times he would point out what Catrina had done wrong and how to better execute an attack. As days past Catrina found herself honing her battle skills. In the meantime while Beowulfmon would teach her offensive techniques, Wizardmon, or as his Ultimate form Mystimon, taught Catrina strategies and defensive maneuvers. And finally, Nanomon, with her vast knowledge of Digimon in her programmed database, was able to offer Catrina many hints of how to fight certain Digimon in the most effective manner – by imparting the strength, weakness and many other vital points of various types of Digimon.

Battle skills were not the only thing which Catrina had honed while living with her newfound friends. She learned courtesy as well, and began to wonder why would she ever fight the DigiDestined in the first place? Beowulfmon and Wizardmon had told her many interesting stories pertaining the DigiDestined and their adventures in the Digital World. While she had heard a lot, in her opinion there was something more about the DigiDestined that they had withheld from her, but what she had been told were enough to convince her to be on their side instead of her former master's.

Few hours flew past as Catrina made her way home. Home, she thought wistfully. Once, the Velvet Claw was her home. The flying high-tech ship was her luxurious home. However that was all in the past. Right now, despite the lack of many things which Catrina had gotten used to, she found herself adapting to her new conditions. It was difficult, but she reminded herself over and over again that Chaos Specter was the one who had destroyed her home dimension. She was taken away from where she truly belonged. And now, with her new friends, the sense of belonging began to rise from within. This confused Catrina slightly as well, as while she was with Chaos Specter she did feel belonged as well. It was different though, she thought. Belonging can have two meanings…with Chaos Specter; Catrina felt like she belonged to the master, as in, Catrina was Chaos Specter's to be used at his will.

With her friends however, the word had a different meaning. It's like…family.

Catrina pondered upon this even more, the elatedness she'd felt for defeating Shadow WereGarurumon was soon gone, like the wind. She was so deep in thought that she didn't realize that she was now in an area which was close enough to home. If she made a run for it, she could reach home within less than thirty minutes. Looking at the still-dark sky, Catrina estimated that it was about three hours to daybreak, which was good. She wouldn't be late.

However, there was a feeling of uneasiness that suddenly crept within her. It sent a chill down her spine, and made her furs stood up slightly. Catrina couldn't understand what was happening. The night was cold, but she was used to colder surroundings. Was it the strange clouds that suddenly appeared at the sky? The clouds were not thick, but there was something that was rather off about it. Catrina thought that she could smell something too. Something…burning. Smokes.

She quickly ran as swift as she could, a feeling of dread suddenly replaced the easiness. It couldn't be, could it? She thought nervously. "Oh, no…" Catrina gasped, involuntarily dropping the carton of root beers she was holding as she saw Beowulfmon's house from a distance…or what was left of it. Piles of burning woods were what was left of the house Catrina had began to call home. She ran and ran towards the house, wondering whether her friends were safe.

"BEOWULFMON! WIZARDMON! NANOMON!"

Nobody was in sight, and Catrina couldn't know exactly what had happened to them. When Digimon die, they didn't leave any trace behind as they would disintegrate into data. There was no means for Catrina to track her friends at all. She fell on her knees and not knowing what else to do, she began to weep.

"Who did this?" she sobbed. "WHO DID THIS!"

"Catrina…?"

Catrina instantly turned around upon hearing a familiar feminine robotic voice. She immediately saw Nanomon, who was hiding behind a large stone behind the river. Catrina knew instantly that whatever had happened, it scared Nanomon enough for her to go near the river, a place she detested the most as the water could short-circuit her. The robot was slightly buzzing with sparks of electricity, signing some damage, but otherwise she still operated fine.

"Nanomon!" Catrina cried happily. "I'm so happy to see you!"

Nanomon approached Catrina slowly, or rather, somewhat haltingly, her eyes still fixed on the house. As the robot got closer Catrina saw that she had suffered some significant damage as well. Nevertheless she was glad that her friend was still operational. "He came, Catrina…he's found us!" Nanomon said frantically.

Catrina's eyes widened instantly. She knew exactly who Nanomon was referring to…but she had to be sure. "Nanomon, who did this?" she asked urgently. "I need to be sure."

Nanomon buzzed several incoherent words as more electricity sparked from her circuits. "…came…chaos…specter…Velgamon…Veldusmon…unknown…Beowulfmon…Wizardmon…captured…" With that her eyes closed and she limped on the ground, unmoving. Her circuits, buried within her metallic body, suddenly imploded, sending more sparks out through the sides of her body where the metallic parts were joined to constitute a body.

"Nanomon…no! Please, don't go," Catrina wept hard, fearing that Nanomon would be destroyed. She now realized that her friend had actually suffered extensive damage. She looked down fearfully, expecting the worse, but to her relief Nanomon remained unconscious, but not destroyed. "She's still reparable…I need to get her to…somewhere," she said, breathing hard. Her brows narrowed as the words Nanomon had just said echoed in her mind. "Chaos Specterrr…he's capturrred Beowulfmon and Wizardmon. No doubt he's still after me. But why catch them?" she whispered slowly, trying to sort out possibilities. She couldn't come up with any, but a growing feeling of hate began to form in her heart.

"He's destrrroyed my home world…and now he's taken away my frrriends, and nearly destrrroyed anotherrr frrriend," she said vehemently. Then her expression softened. "I need to save them… but how? How am I going to go to the Velvet Claw?" she wondered despairingly. Her eyes then fell on her fallen friend. "Nanomon needs repairrring too, but who can do that?"

Catrina paced around nervously, trying to think of any possible way for her to get Nanomon fixed and her two other friends rescued.

I can't teleport there anymore, Catrina thought bitterly. Suddenly, an idea came to her. It would be the only way for her to be able to get Nanomon repaired and Beowulfmon and Wizardmon rescued from Chaos Specter. Thinking again, she realized that she wasn't too fond of the idea, but it was the only choice she had. Like it or not, if she wanted to see Nanomon repaired and in order for her to rescue her friends, she had to risk it. She might be turned down, she might even be attacked, but she had to try.

"I need the DigiDestined's help," she realized. "I need to go to Asuka City."

xxx

xxx

**Author's Note: **

**Firstly I'd like to say that I'm sorry for the long delay. I haven't lost interest in the story but I've been somewhat busy this semester and also, I've begun a new story (Wira Digital) and spent quite a while drafting its storyline. Combine that and my busier schedule this semester, I've been out of touch with my other two stories – but I'm using my summer holiday, which is about to end anyway, to get back to the stories' groove. **

**The chapter is very short, I know. I have to cut a lot of things out from the pre-chapter part where the current DigiDestined meet the original DigiDestined, and even some of the things mentioned there have not been featured yet in Legends of the DigiDestined. I don't want to spoil Legends too much. I just thought of making it as a 'Coming soon, on Legends of DigiDestined' sort of advertisement, as Legends too haven't been updated for a while. **

**Thank you so much for all the reviews and mails asking about the update of the story. I apologize again for keeping you waiting. **

**Anyway I've decided to cancel my Live Journal and Forums because I can't find the time to maintain them anymore. I'll focus instead on finishing Vengeance as soon as possible. **


End file.
